The
Kaduna State Governor-elect, Nasir El-Rufai, has given an assurance
that the incoming All Progressives Congress (APC) government is
determined to revive all the collapsed textile factories in the state
and other parts of the country as soon as it takes over power on May 29,
2015.
El-Rufai made the promise during his familiarization tour of some textile factories in Kaduna State.
During
the tour, he lamented over what he described as the sorry state of
infrastructure at the textile industries in Kaduna State, which he said
had led to loss of jobs and revenue for the government.
As
part of effort to turn around the textile sector, the former FCT
Minister said that the APC government led by General Muhammadu Buhari
would ensure the full implementation of the ban on smuggled textile
materials into the country as well as giving the textile factories a
lifeline to pick up again.
The leadership of the textile workers
union said that the major problems facing the textile industry in
particular and the manufacturing sector in general are infrastructural
inadequacy, electricity supply, smuggling, counterfeiting and faking raw
materials, as well as lack of local patronage, among others.
They said that all these problems call for strong interventions by the incoming government.
The
United Nigerian Textiles Company Limited had over 7,000 workers in its
payroll before 2007 when it was shut down and later re-opened in 2010.
Sadly, despite having quality machines and manpower, the company has
been producing at very low capacity with few staff due to low patronage.
While expressing optimism in the ability of the Buhari
government to revive the textile sector, the workers also expressed
willingness to partner with the incoming administration to reinvent the
sector which has propelled newly industrialized countries in recent
times such as China, India, Bangladesh and Indonesia among others.
According
to a report released by the National Union of Textile Garment and
Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN), 26 out of the 36 states in the
country grow cotton of both long and short stable lengths.
Nigeria
has the potential of producing 1.2 billion meters of cloth per annum at
6 meters per capital. In the West African sub region, Nigeria is a
natural textile destination point in the world. The industry has the
potential to create 3 million direct jobs.
In the 70s and up to
early 80s, Nigeria was the largest producer of different range of
textile, garment and carpet products surpassed in production only by
Egypt and South Africa.
Credit: Channels
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