ABUJA, Nigeria (FN) — Nigeria’s Federal Government has announced plans to revive the country’s collapsed cotton, textile and garment industry, aiming to create 1.5 million jobs as part of a broader push for industrialization and economic diversification.
Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Enoh, said cotton production has plummeted by 95 percent over the past two decades, from about 200,000 metric tonnes in 2001 to roughly 10,000 metric tonnes in 2025. He described the decline as a major setback for Nigeria’s industrial base.
Speaking at the National CTG Value Chain Activation Pilot Milestone Event, Enoh said the government’s pilot scheme has already demonstrated Nigeria’s capacity to cultivate cotton, process it, and manufacture garments competitively within six to seven months. He cited the successful production of 10,000 locally made T-shirts as proof of the sector’s potential.
“The initiative has proven that Nigeria can produce garments at better quality, better pricing and in larger quantities than imported alternatives,” Enoh said. “What you have seen today is not a concept note or policy proposal. It is proof that these things are possible and are already happening.”
Officials said the revival plan will focus on rebuilding an integrated cotton-to-garment production chain, strengthening market linkages, improving financing structures, and supporting smallholder farmers. The Bank of Agriculture has pledged to finance cotton production, particularly for small-scale growers.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Chris Osa Isokpunwu, described the initiative as a strategic intervention to deepen economic diversification and enhance Nigeria’s competitiveness under the African Continental Free Trade Area. He said the CTG sector has the potential to generate more than 1.5 million jobs annually, especially for women and youths.
Enoh acknowledged that past interventions failed because they targeted isolated segments of the industry rather than building a coordinated value chain. “The problem is not entirely funding or infrastructure. The real issue is that the value chain was never designed to function as one coordinated system,” he said.
The textile industry, once a major employer in Nigeria, collapsed due to years of neglect, smuggling of cheap fabrics, and poor infrastructure. The government says the new initiative is central to its industrial policy launched earlier this year and will help restore confidence in local manufacturing.
