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By Bimbola Oyesola, [email protected]
The National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) has blamed the collapse of the textile sector on non-patronage of locally produced fabrics by the Federal Government and its agencies.
This is even as it has called on the Federal Government to establish a presidential task force equipped with the power to confiscate goods smuggled into the country. The task force, the union said, should be made up of stakeholders, including members of the union.
President of NUTGTWN, John Adaji, stated this during the union’s 100th National Administrative Council (NAC) and 86th Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Lagos. He lamented that the Nigeria Army, Customs, Immigration and all other uniformed agencies do not patronise the local industry, noting that the Presidency should lead by example.
“I love it when the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosan, said the clothes, shoes he wears are locally produced and said he could mention the companies that made them; our leaders here should do the same, they should wear made-in-Nigeria to encourage our industry to grow,” he said.
He noted that one of the major problems of the industry has been lack of patronage in spite of the Federal Executive Order 003 on patronage of locally produced goods.
He called on relevant agencies of government to comply with the executive order by patronising locally produced textiles to avert further factory closures and attendant loss of jobs.
On the task force, Adaji recalled that a similar task force existed during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, noting that, since then, smuggled goods and counterfeit made-in-Nigeria had continued to find their way into the country unhindered.
He expressed displeasure at the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) not effectively combating smuggling, such that cheap smuggled textile products largely from China and other Asian countries continue to dominate the local market with little or no access for the locally produced textiles.
Pointing at the NCS for aiding and abetting smuggling, the NUTGTWN boss alleged that some Customs officers openly escort smuggled goods across the borders.
He alleged that most of the notable smugglers were equally supporters and financiers of most politicians, stating that there was little or nothing they could do to stop them.
He called on the NCS to be more patriotic and adopt creative measures that must include consistent raids of the warehouses of smugglers in Kano, Lagos, Kaduna, Onitsha and other cities of the federation.
According to him, the promised benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA) will elude Nigeria if the illegal imports of textile fabrics and other products Nigeria has the capacity to produce locally continue to find their way into the Nigerian markets unchecked.
He acknowledged some measures by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Central Bank of Nigeria and Bank of Industry aimed at textile industry revival and called for urgent stakeholders’ meeting that must include the union to objectively review some of the measures to ascertain the level of success as well as challenges.
Adaji urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure holistic implementation of the Cotton Textile Garment (CTG) policy, noting that the textile industry remained a critical plank for addressing the high level of unemployment and attendant security challenges in the country.
He maintained that a fully revived textile industry was capable of creating millions of jobs, addressing security challenges, internally generated revenue, and reduce billions of dollars import bill incurred annually on textile and apparel, safeguard and earn foreign exchange for the country.
The workers also urged state governments to complement Federal Government’s efforts through bold industrial policies that would revive closed factories in their localities, such as provision of infrastructure, granting of tax incentives and patronage of made-in-Nigeria products.
The labour leader emphasised that the government must do more to provide the enabling environment for the revival of the textile industry in Nigeria and manufacturing activities in general.
