Textile industry in doldrums 15 years after N100 billion investment by govt
DESPITE sinking N100 billion through the establishment of the Cotton, Textile and Garment ( CTG) fund by the Federal Government in 2008, the industry has remained comatose.
Speaking at a policy dialogue on sustainable industrialisation and employment in Nigeria organised in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung ( FES) in Abuja yesterday, the President of the National Union of Textile
• Electricity workers accuse govt of spending N2tr on power Garment and Tailoring said.
Workers of Nigeria ( NUTHe explained that the GTWN), John Adaji, also union’s campaign and advoblamed policy somersaults cacy had culminated in the and smuggling as the main emergence of several supchallenges militating against portive policies such as the the revival of the sector. ban on textile import
"Smuggling is the major between 2003 and 2007, the killer of the textile industry in introduction of the Export Nigeria. The issue of smugExpansion Grant ( EEG), and gling must be decisively dealt the N100 billion textile and with if we are to keep the cotton intervention funds. remaining industries and Though he admitted that employment in the sector," he while some of the policies had brought succour to the industry in the past and that rather than strengthen and sustain some of the policy measures, the industry has witnessed an uncritical reversal of policies by successive governments.
Adaji, who spoke during the celebration of the 2022 Africa Industrialisation Day ( AID) which had, ' Industrialising Africa: Renewed Commitment towards Inclusive and Sustainable
Industrialisation and Economic Diversification', declared that the continent will continue to witness a high level of unemployment and restiveness until the continent establishes clear pathways for industrialisation.
Adaji lamented the loss of jobs in the textile sector and the inability of the industry to operate at optimal capacities, saying, "there is still a huge gap between official policy pronouncements and implementation."
He said the organised labour movement is worried about the precarious situation of the manufacturing sector in Nigeria particularly as it affects the textile industry and its implication for members’ welfare, jobs and employment in general.
He stressed that the future of Nigeria and that of Africa lies in adding value to its abundant raw materials and the creation of sustainable jobs.