KEY POINTS
- The sector’s GDP contribution fell from N4.548 trillion in 2023 to N4.384 trillion in 2025.
- Nigeria once had over 180 textile mills; fewer than 20 remain operational today.
- The government unveiled a Cotton, Textile and Garment Development Board under the Nigeria Industrial Policy 2025.
Nigeria’s cotton, textile and garment industry shed another N92 billion in output value in 2025, extending a three-year contraction that has stripped the sector of N164 billion since 2023 and left one of Africa’s once-dominant manufacturing industries clinging to survival.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show the Nigeria textile sector contributed N4.384 trillion to GDP in 2025, down from N4.476 trillion in 2024 and N4.548 trillion in 2023. That trajectory represents a 3.6 percent decline over two years, and nothing in the current operating environment suggests the bleeding will stop soon.
From 180 Mills to Fewer Than 20 Nigeria textile sector
At its peak in the 1980s, Nigeria ran more than 180 textile mills and ranked among the continent’s leading garment producers. Today, fewer than 20 mills still operate. Industry analysts point to a familiar cluster of culprits: unreliable power supply, punishing foreign exchange constraints, high production costs and a steady flood of cheaper imported textiles that undercut local manufacturers on price before they even reach the market.
Several firms have scaled down production significantly. Others run well below their installed capacity, waiting for conditions that keep failing to materialize. The result is a sector that has progressively lost ground, both in absolute output and as a driver of employment and industrial activity.
Government Steps In, Workers Watch Carefully
The federal government has responded with the Nigeria Industrial Policy 2025, which includes the establishment of a Cotton, Textile and Garment Development Board to coordinate revival efforts. Authorities are also pushing enforcement of Executive Order 003, which directs government agencies to prioritize locally produced textiles in their procurement decisions.
The National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria welcomed both moves. Union president Peters Godonu described the proposed board as a landmark initiative and said the steps represent far-reaching measures aimed at accelerating Nigeria’s industrialisation and reviving a sector workers have watched deteriorate for decades.
Whether those interventions carry enough weight to reverse three years of decline in Nigeria textile sector remains the central question. The data so far offers no evidence that the bottom is near.
