Buhari plans to resuscitate textile, garment industry

IN fulfilment of some of the campaign promises of President Muhammadu Buhari to revive cotton and textile industry, the Presidency has directed immediate inauguration of a special committee that would see to the resuscitation of the ailing industry.

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sonny Echono, who disclosed this while inaugurating the committee in Abuja, lamented that cotton, textile and garments industries across the country have become “shadows of themselves” due to influx of cheap textile materials, inconsistent government policies and dumping of sub-standard textile materials in the country.

Apart from this committee, other committees raised by the Permanent Secretary include the Committee on Operationalisation of Federal Government Storage Facilities, Committee on Strategic Action Plan for the Development of Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes nationwide as well as the Committee on the Revitalisation of Agricultural Extension Services in Nigeria.

While speaking on the need to resuscitate cotton, textile and garments industry in Nigeria, he noted that the industry had hitherto over 400,000 employees, adding that due to the deplorable state of textile and garments industry, the number of its employees has significantly reduced to about 30,000.

According to him: “The UNTH in Kaduna, textile industries in Aba and Kano, these industries alone employed over 400,000 Nigerians but today, if you go there, they are ghosts of themselves. Only about 30,000 workers are working in all these textile industries.

“Worried and concerned on the need to create jobs and add value, because we are spending so much money in importing garments, the President gave this charge to set up this committee.”

He, however, expressed optimism that the Nigerian textile industry has the potential to compete with the best in the world, adding that President Buhari-led administration was irrevocably committed to ensuring substantial growth in high quality cotton production to feed textile and garment industry, thereby bringing back a thriving textile and garments industry.