• Minister says govt loses $325m yearly
The cumulative value of textiles and garments smuggled into Nigeria by unscrupulous elements is valued at $4.2billion while the Federal Government loses $325million revenue yearly, the Minister for State, Industry, Trade and investment, Aisha Abubakar, said yesterday.
According to her, the cotton, textile and garment (CTG) sector is also one of the key sectors prioritised in both the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) of the Federal Government because of its strategic importance to jobs and wealth creation and general industrial development of the country.
Speaking during a high level stakeholders retreat on CTG policy in Abuja, she said the sector’s development review is in tandem with the industrialisation and diversification initiatives of the Federal Government.
She said: “Investing in agriculture and manufacturing are the major contributors to the economic growth and development of the nation.
“The government publicised the approved national CTG policy in January 2015 with the aim of improving sustainable increase in production, improvement and competitiveness of CTG sector across the entire value chain to create jobs and wealth for Nigerians.
“However the expected outcomes from the policy intervention are yet to be realised due to insufficient cotton seed for production, high cost of operation, smuggling and counterfeiting, high influx of cheap textile and garment production into the country, lack of enabling infrastructure and lack of quality and standard.
“These issues have affected the industry’s growth and necessitated the need for holistic review of the CTG policy to align with current realities with a view to boosting production.”
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