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From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
The National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) on Monday honoured one of Nigeria’s foremost labour icons, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, by renaming its national secretariat in his name.
The event, held in Kaduna during the 37th Annual National Education Conference of the union, also featured the launch of a Workers’ Education Endowment Fund and the commissioning of a Tailoring Hub aimed at empowering members in the informal sector.
Speaking at the opening session, Comrade Peters Godonu, President of NUTGTWN, said the initiatives symbolize the union’s deep-rooted commitment to education, innovation, and solidarity.
“Education has always been at the heart of our union’s strength. An educated worker is an empowered worker,” Godonu said. “Through education and training, we have built leaders, nurtured activists, and sustained the democratic culture of our movement.”
The conference, themed “Industry, Labour, and National Development,” brought together labour leaders, employers, policymakers, and development partners to discuss strategies for reviving Nigeria’s once-vibrant textile and garment sector — a sector that, at its peak in the 1990s, employed over one million workers across more than 180 mills.
Godonu lamented the sector’s decline due to policy inconsistency, smuggling, and infrastructural decay, but expressed optimism that the Renewed Hope Agenda of the current administration could signal a new era of industrial revival.
“With genuine government commitment and stakeholder collaboration, the textile industry can once again become a major employer of labour and a driver of national development,” he said.
He also welcomed the government’s plan to establish a Textile and Garment Development Board, while insisting that the union must have representation on the board to ensure workers’ voices are heard in policy formulation.
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The renaming of the union’s four-storey national secretariat was described as a tribute to Comrade Oshiomhole’s visionary leadership and enduring contributions to Nigeria’s labour movement.
Under Oshiomhole’s tenure as General Secretary from 1982, the union built several secretariat buildings across the country, expanded membership, computerized operations, and institutionalized workers’ education through the annual conference.
“By placing his name on our secretariat, we immortalize his ideals of courage, sacrifice, and commitment to workers’ dignity,” Godonu declared.
The newly launched Education Endowment Fund, he added, will sustain leadership training, skill development, and empowerment programmes for workers—particularly women and youth.
The Tailoring Hub, also commissioned during the event, will serve as a modern training and innovation centre linking self-employed tailors and fashion designers to business opportunities and markets.
The conference was attended by top labour leaders including the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), representatives of NTGTEA, and dignitaries from international partners such as Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), IndustriALL Global Union, and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Godonu commended the union’s partners and reaffirmed NUTGTWN’s resolve to continue organizing, educating, and mobilizing workers for decent work, justice, and inclusive development.
“Together, we are building a stronger union and a better future for workers and our nation,” he said.
