The Federal Government has launched a national campaign to discourage the consumption of hides and skins, popularly known as ponmo, as part of efforts to revitalise Nigeria’s leather industry and enhance job creation.
Speaking on Thursday in Abuja at the flag-off of the National Campaign Against Ponmo Consumption, the Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ikemounso, said the practice deprives the country’s leather industry of essential raw materials worth billions of dollars annually.
Ikemounso disclosed that Nigeria’s leather goods market was valued at $2.79 billion in 2024 and projected to reach $4.96 billion by 2033, noting that continued diversion of hides for food consumption could derail this economic growth.
“From an economic and industrial standpoint, cowhides are one of Nigeria’s most valuable raw materials,” he said. “Our country has a vibrant leather industry with enormous potential for job creation, foreign exchange earnings, and GDP contribution.”
He explained that the global leather value chain is estimated at between $420 billion and $1 trillion, adding that with proper policy direction, infrastructure, and raw material management, Nigeria could significantly increase its market share.
According to him, the campaign themed “Wear, Not Eat Your Leather” — is aimed at promoting the industrial use of hides and skins to strengthen local manufacturing and reduce dependence on imported raw materials.
“It is important to clarify that this campaign is not against culture or personal food preferences,” Ikemounso noted. “Rather, it is a strategic effort to ensure that hides and skins are channelled into productive industrial use for national benefit.”
The RMRDC boss also raised health concerns, warning that ponmo offers little or no nutritional value and is sometimes processed with toxic substances such as formalin and diesel, posing serious risks including organ damage and increased cancer exposure.
“From a nutritional perspective, ponmo offers negligible benefits. More worrisome is that many hides used for ponmo are preserved with non-food-grade chemicals, which are dangerous to human health,” he added.
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Nigeria’s leather industry is regarded as one of the nation’s most promising non-oil sectors, with the potential to become a major source of export revenue and employment. However, the government has repeatedly expressed concern that the popularity of ponmo among consumers has slowed the sector’s growth and undermined its global competitiveness.
The RMRDC said it would continue to collaborate with stakeholders in agriculture, trade, and health sectors to implement sustainable measures that would reposition Nigeria’s leather industry as a global player.