Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that Nigeria should now go beyond talking about made-in-Nigeria and buy-Nigeria to real action.
He stressed that, overall: “it is up to all of us to see that this particular initiative works. We have talked enough.”
The Vice President spoke 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.
He made it clear that patronage of made in Nigeria products by Nigerians is important and can contribute to the revival of the cotton, textile and garment industries which is the goal of the Buhari administration.
“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.”
Professor Osinbajo noted that the challenge of smuggling of foreign textile materials into the country had to be tackled.
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.
The Committee is proposing a “Wear Naija Day,” where public officials and employees of corporate organisations would all wear locally made fabrics.
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 access 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.
Earlier, the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Aisha Abubakar who attended the meeting said 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 as well as
modernization of infrastructure.
She said that past attempts to revive the industries failed because they 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.”
He said that the APC presidential ticket had promised to revamp the industry during the electioneering campaigns last year. [myad]
