At the heart of every economically resilient country lies a productive industrial base, one that is rooted in local value addition, trusted by its consumers, and protected through smart, strategic policy choices. Nigeria, despite its immense potential, has long suffered from a paradox: abundant local talent and raw materials, yet a persistent over-reliance on imports. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recently approved “Nigeria First Policy” aims to end that contradiction.
The policy is not another isolated symbolic intervention. It is strategic. It follows a raft of macroeconomic reforms deployed to reset decades-old public finance deficiencies, paving the way for a renewed focus on growth drivers. Over the past two years, the reforms have seen the removal of the unsustainable fuel subsidies and the plugging of foreign exchange losses through the unification of the exchange market.
These reforms have led to heightened investor confidence, exemplified by Nigeria’s successful Eurobond market foray and a resurgence in portfolio inflows. The Naira also entered a phase of stabilisation as gross and net international reserves increased in 2024.
Naira stabilisation and improvements in food production eased inflation to 23.7 percent year-on-year in April 2025 from 31 percent annual average in 2024 (under the rebased NBS CPI index) and is expected to decline further in the medium term.
Fiscal performance improved in 2024 on the back of higher revenues, with GDP accelerating to 3.4 percent. With the successful passage of the Tax Reform Bills, paving the way for increased revenue mobilisation and expanded fiscal space for development spending, the economy is expected to experience further growth.
But these reforms have also come with some unintended consequences, like heightened inflation and cost of capital, impacting households and businesses, and requiring a next-phase intervention targeting microeconomic growth and social impact-yielding inclusive growth. This is where the Nigeria First policy comes in.
The Nigeria First policy is a deliberate, data-informed, and enforceable economic framework that places local industry at the centre of government procurement while also encouraging innovation, backward integration, and investor confidence. At its core, it mandates that all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) prioritise Nigerian-made goods and services in their procurement activities. Foreign alternatives may only be considered if there is no verifiable local substitute, and even then, technology transfer or local partnership requirements must be embedded in those contracts.
To understand the potential reach of the policy, it is important to understand the prevailing structure of procurement in Nigeria. Government procurement accounts for nearly 30 percent of total public expenditure in Nigeria. If a significant portion of that spending is redirected toward local firms, we stand to retain trillions of naira in the domestic economy, boosting employment, reducing FX demand, and strengthening industrial value chains.
To put this in context, the Nigerian manufacturing sector currently contributes just over 8 percent to GDP (NBS Q4 2024), far below the African average of 12–15 percent. With focused procurement-led industrial policy, as Nigeria First provides, that figure could realistically reach 15 percent by 2027, driven by expansion in agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, garments, steel, cement, and the digital economy.
Unlike previous Buy-Nigeria campaigns that were aspirational but loosely enforced, this policy has a real chance of success by being anchored on concrete administrative structures. The Bureau of Public Procurement’s centralised Contractor Registration System (a National Database of the Particulars, Categorisation and Classification of Federal Contractors and Service Providers in Nigeria) can be adapted to serve as a Nigeria First Vendor Registry, one that prequalifies Nigerian manufacturers, service providers, and artisans based on verifiable capacity and quality.
Also, good coordination can be attained if all MDAs are required to submit annual procurement plans aligned with Nigeria First benchmarks, and compliance audits are conducted by the BPP in partnership with the Auditor-General’s office. MDAs will need to be encouraged to source locally in ways that are innovative and cost-effective.
Another vital structure that can be leveraged for policy coordination and implementation is the existence of a waiver committee chaired at the ministerial level, which will strictly vet any attempt to procure non-Nigerian inputs, with such requests only granted following clear evidence of non-availability locally.
Furthermore, mandatory local content and skills development clauses in contracts awarded to foreign companies, particularly in strategic sectors such as ICT infrastructure, renewable energy, construction, and logistics, will not only create jobs but also accelerate technology transfer.
Combining the aforementioned with the local industry-focused targeted financing of development finance institutions like the Bank of Industry (BOI); the prioritisation of local content-focused companies by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), the Export Promotion Council (NEPC), and the Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA); and the fast-tracking of certification processes for local businesses by regulatory bodies such as SON, NAFDAC, and NOTAP to ensure that Nigerian products meet domestic and international standards, especially under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), will represent a solid infrastructure for policy implementation.
Contrary to the counterargument, the Nigeria First policy is not protectionist. Rather, it is strategic industrialism, creating the conditions that make domestic production viable, competitive, and investable.
To support the private-sector response to this new demand, the government is rolling out a suite of complementary incentives, in addition to earlier initiatives, geared towards improving the ease of doing business.
On the hard infrastructure side, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway, and the Abuja-Kano Standard Gauge Railway are notable projects that will facilitate trade through the movement of persons and goods.
The FG’s launch of the National Single Window (NSW) project, which is aimed at enhancing trade efficiency through a centralised electronic trade platform that streamlines trade processes for importers and exporters, is an important driver on the innovation side. It puts Nigeria within the ranks of countries with similar models, such as Singapore, South Korea, and Rwanda.
The FG’s recapitalisation drive for the Bank of Industry and the Bank of Agriculture, strengthening their targeted support vehicles, especially for MSMEs, will expand financial access for local businesses, an essential success factor for the Nigeria First policy. Without access to finance, local businesses cannot take advantage of the inward-looking opportunities that the new policy creates.
Moreover, the CNG initiative of the government, which lowers energy costs, alongside the simplified tax regime, the increased government demand through local economy-boosting procurement, and the incentives from Export Processing Zones combine to create a more cost-friendly business environment that will bolster a thriving local economy for the long term.
The Nigeria First policy is a winning strategy for local economy recalibration, economic expansion, and job creation. The Minister of State for Industry, Sen. John Owan Enoh, observes that the economic value of implementing the policy amounts to about N3 trillion per year. He adds that the policy will contribute about 20 per cent to the growth of the country’s manufacturing sector over the next three years, creating over 500,000 jobs in the short term, while reducing imports by about 30 per cent.
Beyond policy, one of the biggest barriers to local content has been perception. For decades, the Nigerian consumer, both public and private, has equated quality with foreign labels. This mindset has sadly been reinforced by procurement officers, corporate decision-makers, and even government officials. Nigeria First seeks to reverse that trend. Success stories, such as Innoson Motors, SecureID, Emzor Pharmaceuticals, and numerous agro-exporters, will need to be reinforced to inspire public confidence.
For Nigeria First to succeed, it must be co-owned by the private sector. Manufacturers must invest in quality and scale. SMEs must formalise and meet certification requirements. Financial institutions must develop credit products tailored to local suppliers. And state governments, too, must align their procurement policies with this national shift.
Nigeria is not the first country to implement a policy like this. From South Africa to Brazil and China to India, targeted procurement has long been used as a tool to develop domestic industries. What matters is execution, consistency, and local stakeholder buy-in.
Nigeria First is not just a procurement policy; it is an industrial policy, an investment strategy, and a national development tool. If implemented boldly and transparently, it can help reverse our trade imbalance, create dignified jobs, and lay the foundation for an economy that exports more than crude oil.
We are at an inflection point. And even though there are still areas to address, such as harmonisation of policies and bridging of our energy deficit, I am confident that with sustained political will, institutional accountability, and broad-based partnership, Nigeria First can become the policy that finally aligns our public expenditure with our economic aspirations.
John Uwajumogu is Special Adviser to the President on Industry, Trade, and Investment. He writes from Abuja.
