Tinubu administration would revamp textile industry – Minister assures

Nigeria’s Minister of Trade, Investment and Industry, Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite said, President Bola Tinubu’s administration was committed to revamping the nation’s textile industry, urging the stakeholders to cooperate in order to lift the economy.

Speaking at a town hall meeting of stakeholders in the cotton value chain, yesterday said, the Minister said, it will also create import substitution, increase exports and hence actually generate all the foreign exchange that the country needs.

President of Federation of agricultural commodity of Nigeria, FACAN, Sherrif Balogun and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite at a town hall meeting with stakeholders in the cotton value chain in Abuja.

According to her, it was time government will ensure the cotton, textile and garment sector of the Nigerian economy take the lead in creating employment reducing insecurity, increasing industrialisation and reduce import dependency.

Minister stated further that after listening to some of the comment and speeches, she is even more encouraged, and have become optimistic that the cotton textile and garment sector of Nigeria will be revitalized under the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu

She said: “During his campaign he made these promises to this sector and now we are fulfilling the promise.
“You have witnessed the opportunity where we are bringing investors, we are bringing the plan of action that will really turn around and revive the cotton, textile and garment sector.

“We are expecting to create job opportunities immediately. In the next three to six months we should be seeing injection of capital, technical support, increase in market access for the textile and the garment sector”.

“This is going to be a significant economic boost and super increase in our GDP portraits and a super impact on our economies, from the local economy the communities all the way to the industries.

“We should see that job creation that we have all looked out for. The projection we see from Arise is that within the next two years we should be creating 200,000 jobs, we know that the capacity of the industry can actually grow into millions.

“It will also have the multiplier effect by creating a boom in the fashion designing sector, in the garment making sector where the Nigerian designs in prints, fabric have actually gained a world recognition and that we can latch on to the fashion industry to further increase the consumption and the demand for cotton, textile and garment that are being produced within the country.

“We have the population, we have the market, we have the excitement and the enthusiasm and now we are getting technical and finances support and we are bringing in the foreign investors directly into this value chain.

“I think this is just the beginning. I want to thank the President for his vision, his leadership in ensuring that we are able to revamp, restructure and reposition the cotton, textile and garment sector of the Nigerian economy to take the lead in creating employment reducing insecurity, increasing industrialisation, reducing import dependency, creating import substitution and of course increasing exports and hence we can actually generate all the foreign exchange that we need.
“The challenges are there but I can assure you that they are in the past. In the words of the President, he will always tell you the challenges are in the past, now is solution focused, how do we move forward, how do we bring about the solution.

“That is what we have started here and that is what we are proposing. For me it is a new turn around, it is a new time, a new period of renewed hope for the country, this is actually the renewed hope. We look forward to the subsequent meetings and engagements.