The Federal Government has banned the importation of poultry products, cement, pharmaceuticals and several agricultural goods from countries outside the Economic Community of West African States.
The directive is 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 goods form part of a revised import prohibition list comprising 17 items.
“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 measures are part of the 2026 Fiscal Policy Measures and tariff amendments, which replace the 2023 policy framework.
The government granted a 90-day grace period for importers who had already initiated 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,” it read.
However, the ministry clarified that any new import transactions from April 1, 2026, would be subject to the new regime.
The statement further stated, “Any new import transaction entered from the 1st of April 2026 shall be subjected to the new import duty regime.”
Items on the prohibition list include live or frozen poultry, beef and pork products, bird eggs (with limited exceptions), refined vegetable oils, sugar, cocoa products, and tomatoes.
Others are non-alcoholic beverages, bagged cement, several categories of medicaments, fertilisers, soaps and detergents, paper products, glass bottles, steel materials, and ballpoint pens and parts.
In addition to the import restrictions, the Federal Government introduced a two per cent green tax surcharge on motor vehicles.
The levy applies to vehicles with engine capacities ranging from 2009cc to above 4000cc. The ministry noted that the new fiscal measures would be published in the Official Federal Government Gazette.
