The Federal Government has restricted the importation of several goods, including poultry products, cement, pharmaceuticals, and selected agricultural commodities, from countries outside the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The directive was contained in a circular issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance and signed by the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, dated April 1, 2026.
The circular stated that the affected commodities form part of a revised import prohibition schedule under the government’s updated fiscal framework.
“Import Prohibition List (Trade), applicable only to certain goods originating from non-ECOWAS Member States. It consists of 17 items,” the circular stated.
The new restrictions are embedded in the 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures and tariff adjustments, which replace the 2023 fiscal policy framework.
To ease transition, the government announced a temporary waiver for ongoing transactions already in progress before the policy took effect.
“In addition, a grace period of ninety (90) days, commencing from the effective date of implementation of this circular, i.e., April 1, 2026, shall be granted to all importers who had opened Form ‘M’ and entered into irrevocable trade agreements before the coming into effect of this circular, to process and clear their goods at the prevailing duty rates,” the circular added.
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It further clarified that any new import arrangements from April 1, 2026, would automatically fall under the revised duty regime.
“However, any new import transaction entered into from April 1, 2026, shall be subject to the new import duty regime.
“These Fiscal Policy Measures, which supersede the 2023 Fiscal Policy Measures, shall be published in the Official Federal Government Gazette.”
The list of restricted items spans multiple sectors, including food products, construction materials, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods.
They include live or frozen poultry, beef and pork products, eggs (excluding specialised breeding stock), refined vegetable oils, sugar, cocoa derivatives, and tomato products.
Others are sweetened and flavoured non-alcoholic beverages, bagged cement, medicines and waste pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, soaps, paper products, glass bottles above 150ml, steel products, and writing materials such as ballpoint pens and refills.
In a related measure, the government also introduced a two percent green tax surcharge on imported vehicles with engine capacities between 2,009cc and 3,999cc, as well as those above 4,000cc.
Officials say the policy is aimed at strengthening local production, conserving foreign exchange, and reshaping trade patterns in line with national economic priorities.