Nigeria’s manufacturing sector is once again at a crossroads. Despite official optimism about “improved recovery” and rising industrial confidence, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has painted a grim reality — warehouses are overflowing with unsold goods worth a staggering ₦1.04 trillion in the first half of 2025, a 16.05% increase from ₦896.2 billion recorded in the second half of 2024.
The development, which contradicts the narrative of steady economic recovery, was disclosed in Lagos during the presentation of the Q3 2025 Manufacturers CEO’s Confidence Index (MCCI) and the 2025 MAN Think Tank Report by MAN’s Director-General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, alongside Dr. Oluwasegun Osidipe, Director of Research and Economic Policy.
The report’s findings have sparked outrage within the industrial community and among economic observers, who question how a sector supposedly showing signs of “confidence improvement” could simultaneously be drowning in record-high unsold inventories.
“Who is fooling who here now?” one manufacturer asked rhetorically from the event reported, voicing frustration over what many see as a widening gap between government rhetoric and business reality.
Ajayi-Kadir described the situation as “deeply alarming”, attributing the glut of unsold products to low government patronage of locally manufactured goods, persistent inflation, and weak consumer purchasing power.
“Low patronage by government agencies remains one of the top challenges facing manufacturers,” Ajayi-Kadir said. “Despite our consistent advocacy for public institutions to lead by example in buying made-in-Nigeria products, the implementation of such policies has been poor, and this has left local industries struggling to survive.”
He further lamented that macroeconomic instability, exchange rate volatility, and multiple taxation have aggravated production costs, leaving manufacturers unable to compete with imported goods — many of which enjoy preferential treatment in public procurement.
Backing the DG’s remarks, Dr. Osidipe noted that the rising inventory is a warning sign of a structurally weak economy, where local production is not matched by local consumption or government support.
“It’s a paradox,” according to the report, he said. “We are producing, but not selling. A trillion naira worth of unsold goods is not a sign of growth; it’s evidence of a policy failure. Until government becomes a consistent buyer of Nigerian-made goods, this cycle will persist.”
However, the revelations have prompted critical reflections from financial experts, who are questioning whether Nigeria’s much-touted industrial “recovery” is more statistical than substantial.
Peter Adebayo, a chartered accountant and financial analyst, offered a sobering analysis of the report. He argued that the contradiction between improved confidence indicators and worsening real-sector performance exposes deep flaws in Nigeria’s economic management model.
“The numbers don’t lie,” Adebayo said. “You cannot have ₦1.04 trillion in unsold goods and still claim the sector is improving. What we are seeing is accounting optimism — not real growth. Manufacturers are producing, but demand has collapsed because both consumers and government buyers are squeezed. This points to a breakdown in fiscal coordination.”
He emphasized that unless the federal and state governments enforce the Executive Order 003, which mandates agencies to prioritize local goods and services, Nigeria’s industrial output will continue to circulate without yielding economic value.
“The government’s own budgetary spending should reflect its local content agenda,” Adebayo added. “When ministries and agencies prefer imported goods over domestic products, it sends a discouraging signal to local investors. We can’t talk about a trillion-dollar economy while ignoring our factories.”
Echoing similar sentiments, Celestine Ukpong, an economist and investor based in Lagos, described the situation as a “recovery illusion.”
“You can’t call it growth when manufacturers can’t sell what they produce,” Ukpong stated. “Until the government becomes the biggest and most consistent buyer of made-in-Nigeria goods, recovery will remain a mirage.”
Observers recall that the Executive Order 003, signed in 2017, was designed to promote local procurement and industrial growth. However, years later, the policy remains poorly enforced. Government offices, schools, hospitals, and agencies still depend heavily on imported materials, equipment, and consumables — a trend that undermines Nigeria’s domestic capacity and job creation potential.
The combination of low consumer spending, policy inconsistency, and government neglect has left the sector in limbo. Warehouses across Lagos, Ogun, and Kano industrial zones are filled with unsold goods, forcing many manufacturers to cut back on production or lay off workers.
As Nigeria pursues its ambition of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2030, experts warn that the foundation of that dream is shaky without meaningful support for the real sector.
“We can’t industrialize on paper,” Adebayo concluded. “We need a deliberate national effort to buy, use, and promote Nigerian-made goods. Otherwise, this ₦1.04 trillion unsold inventory is just the beginning of a deeper economic reckoning.”
For now, the big question remains — who is fooling who: the policymakers celebrating confidence indices or the manufacturers counting their unsold losses?
Manufacturers report ₦1.04 trillion unsold goods in H1 2025 despite claims of recovery. MAN, economists, and experts like Peter Adebayo blame weak government patronage, poor local content enforcement, and macroeconomic mismanagement for Nigeria’s industrial stagnation.
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