By Abbanobi – Eku Onyekachi
Abuja
The Permanent Secretary (PS), Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment (FMITI), Ambassador Nura Rimi has emphasised the Federal
Government’s (FG) desire to see the revive Nigeria’s cotton, textile, and
garment sectors.
According to a press release from the Director, Press and Public Relations, Adebayo Thomas, the PS made the disclosure at the 13th delegate conference of the National Union of Textile, Garment, and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (TGTWN) which ended on Wednesday in Abuja. He said that the strength, integrity, and complexity of a country’s industrial sector greatly affects its economic well-being.
According to him, the FG has initiated a lot of reforms geared towards resuscitating the Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) sector, particularly in policy development and implementation, adding that it has greatly impacted both the industry and the economy at large.
Recalling the sector’s boisterous past, the PS said that Cotton CTG used to be the liveliest sector of Nigeria’s economy, employing at least 450,000 Nigerians, and operating over 170 textile mills throughout the country, just as he expressed unhappiness with the sector’s slide to around 20,000 jobs with less than 20 mills, which he deemed unacceptable and urged all efforts to ensure that the sector is properly revitalised.
While emphasizing recent FG efforts, which included the granting of a 100 billion Naira loan facility through the
Bank of Industry (BoI) to purchase equipment, he said that over the years, the lending facility has benefited not less than 35 Textile Industries (10 garment firms, 10 ginneries, and other companies that provide critical services to the sector throughout the country). Other measures include the delivery of seeds to cotton producers through
a collaboration between the Ministry and the Raw Material Research
and Development Council (RMRDC).
The government, he went on, reclassified petrol prices and supply to the CTG sector to cut production costs from $7.62 Mscf (thousand standard cubic feet) to $3.36 Mscf, adding that the Ministry is actively issuing Import Duty Exemption Certificates (IDECs) to duty -free machinery and spare parts importers. He also mentioned the
FG’s Executive Order 003, which aims to boost local patronage and increase market access in the sector and urged
people in the industry to reconsider their strategy to capitalise on government procurement processes.
Disclosing that the Ministry is currently finalising the textile adjustment tax levy, with a 30% levy being remitted to the BoI for sector use through the CTG Fund 2, the PS concluded that the prospects and challenges in the CTG sector necessitate crosscutting efforts, careful and strategic action by both government
agencies and the private sector to achieve the desired result.
