Coalition wants FG to establish Aba garment, shoe factory nationwide

The Coalition of Southeast Youths (CESYD) on Tuesday applauded the opening of a Garment and shoe factory in Abia State, and urged the Federal government to replicate the Aba plant across the 36 states of the country, noting that “the buzz that this will trigger for allied industries can only be imagined.”

The group explained that the move would cut down and save the nation hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money that would have been expended on kitting the officers and men of the Nigerian Correctional Services.

CESYD said it will also ensure that inmates who earn vocational skills can easily access loans to establish their businesses after they must have ended their time at the custodial centre.

The coalition welcomed the launch on Monday and challenged the Federal Government to also replicate the Aba factory in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as well as synchronize the initiative with the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) empowerment drive of the Bank of Industry (BoI).

According to it, the successful launch of the project has lifted the hearts of the youths in Abia State and the Igbo nation at large, adding that the gesture will not only trigger the local and national economy; but also cut down and save the nation hundreds of millions of taxpayers money that would have been expended on kitting the officers and men of the correctional services.

CSEYD Coordinator, Wisdom Akunna in a statement, Tuesday, explained that with the launch of a brand-new Garment and Shoe Factory in Aba, Abia State by the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, an initiative carried out in partnership with Erojim Nig Ltd, “has unfettered over 100years of colonial punitive reformatory system usually imposed on inmates which the colonial masters bequeathed us.

“CESYD is proud that the Interior Ministry under Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has provided a breathe of fresh air as our custodial centres now have for the first time in many decades, an opportunity for inmates to be equipped to better our society rather than finding their ways back to any of the 240 custodial centres.”

The group further restated the call on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to, in the greater public interest, aggressively support the silent revolution taking place within the Tunji-Ojo-led Interior Ministry by increasing budgetary allocations to the NCoS and the Interior Ministry.

“We in the CESYD believe the best way to get even better results out of a performing Ministry or agency is by paying much more attention to such a Ministry.

“We, therefore, reiterate our earlier call that Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo and his team be encouraged to complete the transformation process that agencies under that Ministry are currently undergoing. It is no longer news that custodial centres in Nigeria have suffered from several decades of government abandonment.”

The group noted that the initiative is a testament to the fact that the government and its agencies can actually serve as vehicles for the transformation of the lives of the citizens.

“This factory and the furniture factory at Borno State which also recently launched by the Interior Ministry under the NCoS, will offer inmates top-tier vocational training, giving them valuable tools to earn a living both inside and outside the correctional facilities.”