Senate Says Enough Is Enough: Proposes Total Ban on Textile Imports to Revive Nigeria’s Dead Industry.

The Nigerian Senate has had enough. On Tuesday, lawmakers passed a resolution calling for a total ban on textile imports into the country, hoping to breathe life back into an industry that once employed nearly half a million Nigerians.

The move followed a motion led by Senator Sunday Katung, with strong support from lawmakers like Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Adams Oshiomhole, Ibrahim Khalid, Mohammed Tahir Monguno, and Mustapha Khabeeb.

Katung painted a painful picture of a fallen giant. He reminded the chamber that Nigeria’s first large scale textile mill was built in Kaduna in 1957. By the late 1970s and 80s, the country had about 167 textile mills, employing close to 500,000 workers. Kaduna was even nicknamed “Textile City.”

But today? Most of those mills are dead. Katung blamed years of neglect, smuggling, weak policies, and a flood of cheap imported fabrics for destroying local production.

Senator Jibrin Isah didn’t mince words: “I don’t want this motion to die like other motions.” He called for real action, not just talk. “We have to sit down with the ministry and tell them how this thing should go. This is financial engineering.”

Senator Ogoshi Onawo linked the textile collapse directly to Nigeria’s security crisis. “All that is happening in our country today is due to lack of jobs for our youths,” he said. Reviving textiles, he argued, would create jobs, boost cotton farming, and restore stability.

Senator Adamu Aliero was even more direct: “If we really want to revive the sector, the only solution is a total ban.” He recalled that Nigeria was once a top cotton producer before smuggling and Asian imports killed local mills.

After a voice vote, the Senate urged the Federal Government, Agriculture Ministry, and Trade Ministry to act fast. They called for:

· A total ban on textile imports

· More funding for the Bank of Industry to support local manufacturers

· Large scale cotton production incentives for farmers

Deputy Senate President Barau I. Jibrin summed it up: “This touches on the overall well being of Nigeria and our economy.”

The resolution is the latest sign that lawmakers are tired of watching local industries die while imports take over.