Nigeria’s manufacturing backbone is buckling under inflationary strain, with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) reporting a 87.7% rise in unsold goods — from ₦1.14 trillion in 2023 to ₦2.14 trillion in 2024.
Director-General Segun Ajayi-Kadir said the surge reflects collapsing consumer power as households spend over 70% of their income on transport and energy.
Factories Without Buyers
Rising input costs, naira devaluation, and energy scarcity have combined to choke profitability. Investment in industrial assets fell to ₦658.8 billion in 2024 — down 35% year-on-year — while capacity utilization dropped below 50%.
Ajayi-Kadir blamed poor government patronage, saying agencies “still prefer imported goods to Nigerian-made products.”
The Economic Domino
- Employment: Thousands of factory jobs lost since Q1 2025.
- Supply Chain: Overcapacity across FMCG, textiles, and automotive sectors.
- Exchange Rate: Weak naira erodes purchasing parity, deepening import reliance.
The Silent Recession
Nigeria’s manufacturing crisis has morphed into a stealth recession — invisible in GDP growth numbers but felt in shuttered warehouses. Unless fiscal and energy reforms translate into household liquidity, the sector could flatline before recovery takes root.
This is IDNN. Independent. Digital. Uncompromising.