Patronage of made in
Nigeria products by Nigerians is important and can contribute to the revival of
the cotton, textile and garment industries, a goal of the Buhari
administration, according to Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.
The Vice President said
this today at the Presidential Villa, Abuja during a meeting with industry
stakeholders and members of the Implementation Committee on the National
Cotton, Textile and Garment Policy.
“Nigerians buying
Nigerian products is very important and it goes beyond the symbolism of wearing
Nigerian-made dresses. It is important for our economy and well-being,” Prof.
Osinbajo declared.
Members of the
Implementation Committee composed of both government officials and industry
stakeholders had earlier highlighted a number of strategies for the revival of
the cotton, textile and garments industries including the promotion of
Nigeria-made dresses among others. Specifically the Committee is proposing
a “Wear Naija Day,” where public officials and employees of corporate organisations
would all wear locally made fabric.
The Federal Government
through the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment had articulated a new
policy to revamp the industries through a number of interventions including
battling smuggling in order to attain a 15% reduction by next year,
facilitating assess to funding for the sector, addressing the challenges of
energy, lifting the ban on importation of finished products and using the
duties and levies raised therefrom to support the industries, among several
other strategies.
Prof. Osinbajo noted
that the challenge of smuggling of foreign textile materials into the country
had to be tackled, adding that, overall "it is up to all of us to see that
this particular initiative works, we have talked enough."
Earlier, the Minister of
State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Aisha Abubakar who attended the
meeting noted that the ministry came up with the Cotton, Textile and Garment
policy, CTG in order to provide “a suit of interventions holistically
across the value chain, including encouraging local patronage, controlling
smuggling, production of improved seedling, cost of energy, cost of funds,
training and upgrading and modernization
of infrastructure.”
She added that past
attempts to revive the industries failed because they had addressed only the
issue of funding.
Leading the stakeholders
to the meeting was Comrade Issa Aremu, the General Secretary of the National
Union of Garment and Textile Workers of Nigeria, who praised the Buhari presidency
of "walking the talk,” explaining that the APC presidential ticket
had promised to revamp the industry during the electioneering campaigns last
year.
Email:cknnews1@gmail.com
Twitter: @CKNNigeria
Facebook: CKNNigeria
CKN NEWS Hotline: 08080054001
Whatsapp: 08099677755
BBM : 2BE329DF
Website: www.cknnigeria.com
Tags
Business