Photo: Director of Strategy and Stakeholder Relations at Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Sadiq Usman (left); Head, Strategy and Performance Management at the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Ms. Edirin Akemu; Group Chief Executive Officer of Golden Sugar Company (GSC), Boye Olusanya; Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh; Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, NSDC, Kamar Bakrin and GSC General Manager, Anlo Du Pisani; during the Minister’s visit to the GSC Complex in Sunti, Niger state.

The Minister of State for Industry, John Owan Enoh, has urged the Golden Sugar Company (GSC) to expand its yearly production capacity to 300,000 metric tonnes by 2030.

Golden Sugar Company, a subsidiary of Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC, currently cultivates about 6,600 hectares, producing about 20,000 metric tonnes of sugar yearly, according to the Group Chief Executive Officer of GSC, Boye Olusanya.

The Ninister, accompanied by the Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Kamar Bakrin, gave the charge when he visited the GSC Complex in Sunti, Niger state.

The Minister noted that the current local sugar production in the country is a long distance away from the 1.8 million metric tonnes that the country consumes yearly, adding that, the GSC must contribute 300,000 metric tonnes in the year 2030.

He commended the management of the company for the employment of about 4,500 workers, emphasising that the government’s requirement for gainful employment is itself achieved here.

• President Bola Tinubu

The Federal Government has totally banned the importation of seventeen products including paracetamol tablets and syrups, metronidazole, cotrimoxazole, and chloroquine from entering into the country through any port of entry.

The Federal Ministry of Finance on Saturday released the latest revised import prohibition list, dated April 1, 2026, under HS Codes 3003.10.00.00 through 3004.90.90.00

Other widely used health products, such as multivitamin capsules, aspirin, folic acid, and various ointments like penicillin and gentamycin, are now restricted to local manufacturers.

Furthermore, refined vegetable oils in retail packs of five litres or less, encompassing soya-bean, palm, and sunflower oils, are prohibited.

However, crude vegetable oil and specific fats like hydrogenated vegetable fats under HS 1516.20.10.00 are permitted to enter the country for industrial use.

In the retail and consumer goods category, the prohibition covers cane or beet sugar in retail packs and chemically pure sucrose containing added flavouring or colouring.

The cocoa industry is also shielded; cocoa butter, powder, and cakes, as well as chocolate preparations in blocks or bars exceeding two kilograms, are listed as prohibited items.

Other household essentials now restricted to local production include tomato paste, whole tomatoes put up for retail sale, and mineral and aerated waters.

The hygiene sector is notably impacted, as all forms of soaps and organic surface-active products (commonly known as detergents) are now barred from importation under HS Codes 3401.11.10.00 through 3402.90.00.00 when intended for retail sale.

Even everyday stationery is affected, as ballpoint pens and their refills are barred from importation, though the government made a specific concession for importing pen tips. Industrial and construction materials were not left out of the revised trade policy.

Bagged cement remains on the prohibited list under HS Code 2523.29.00.00, alongside NPK 15:15:15 fertilizers and similar variants.

The packaging industry faces a continued ban on corrugated paper, paper boards, and cartons, while the glass industry is protected by a prohibition on hollow glass bottles exceeding 150 milliliters in capacity.

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) urged the Federal Government and the petroleum industry regulators to disregard the recent prescription by the World Bank that Nigeria should open its borders to imported Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to solve inflationary crisis.

In a position document titled ‘FUEL IMPORTATION PRESCRIPTION AS A RECIPE FOR DEINDUSTRIALISATION AND NATIONAL ECONOMIC RETROGRESSION,’ MAN, described the April 2026 Nigeria Development Update (NDU) by the World Bank, as ” structurally flawed, counterproductive, and highly detrimental to Nigeria’s industrialization agenda.”

Segun Ajayi – Kadir, its Director -General, noted that While we welcome the Bretton Woods institution’s clarification that national energy security is paramount in today’s volatile global climate, we reiterate our fundamental objection to the initial premise that reinstating petrol import licenses is a viable, long-term strategy to avert an inflation spike. It is not, and should not be considered as an option.

The Association emphasised that importation of PMS will undermine domestic refining capacity; contribute to the disruption of the foreign exchange market; disincentivize investment in and expansion of local refining, and truncate the relief that Nigerians have started to enjoy since the advent of Dangote Refinery and other local refineries.

Our Position

The World Bank’s report posited that the suspension of import licenses stifled competition, allowing domestic ex-depot prices to rise, thereby driving up inflation.

This analysis panders to short-term bias and does not take into account the following foundational macroeconomic realities of the Nigerian economy:

The FX Drain and the Major Driver of Inflation

Nigeria’s inflation is fundamentally cost-push and can be aggressively driven by exchange rate volatility.

Therefore, promoting PMS imports means returning to the era of fiercely competing for scarce foreign exchange (FX) to fund foreign refineries. Such depletion of FX depreciates the Naira further.

A weakened Naira spikes the cost of importing critical raw materials and machinery for domestic manufacturers, triggering a far bigger wave of inflation across all sectors of the economy than a temporary 12% differential in fuel pump prices.