Breaking: Federal Government Of Nigeria Bans Cement Importation, Releases Full List Of Restricted Goods

The Federal Government has announced a ban on the importation of poultry products, cement, pharmaceuticals, and several agricultural items from countries outside the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

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.

According to the circular, the affected items are part of a revised import prohibition schedule covering 17 categories of goods.

“Import Prohibition list (Trade), applicable only to certain goods originating from non-ECOWAS Member States. It consists of 17 items,” the document stated.

The new policy forms part of the 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures and tariff adjustments, which replace the 2023 framework.

The government granted a 90-day grace period for importers who had already begun transactions before the policy took effect.

“In addition, a grace period of ninety (90) days… shall be granted to all importers who had opened Form ‘M’ and must have entered into irrevocable Trade Agreement before the coming into effect of this circular,” the statement read.

However, the ministry clarified that all new import transactions from April 1, 2026, will fall under the new import duty regime.

“Any new import transaction entered from the 1st of April 2026 shall be subjected to the new import duty regime,” it added.

Items on the prohibition list include live or frozen poultry, beef and pork products, eggs (with limited exceptions), refined vegetable oil, sugar, cocoa-based products, tomatoes, non-alcoholic beverages, bagged cement, medicaments, fertilisers, soaps, detergents, paper products, glass bottles, steel products, and ballpoint pens and components.

In addition, the Federal Government introduced a two per cent green tax surcharge on motor vehicles with engine capacities ranging from 2009cc to above 4000cc.

The ministry also noted that the updated fiscal measures will be officially published in the Federal Government Gazette.

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