Footwear Manufacturers of Nigeria (FMN) yesterday in Kano decried neglect of its members by the Federal Government. It accused the government of not patronising local footwears to encourage manufacturers.
The group lamented that no fewer than 10 of its members have closed shop because of lack of patronage.
Speaking to reporters in Kano, Kano State capital, its spokesman, Alhaji Muhammadu Haruna also faulted the procedure used by the Federal Government in awarding 50,000 combat military boots project valued at over N500 million to a shoe company in the country.
He insisted that the award of the contract to an Aba-based shoe company lacked due process, adding that it was a betrayal of trust on the part of the authorities of the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment which earlier had a discussion with FMN over the contract.
Haruna, who is the Director of Footwear and Accessories Manufacturing and Distribution Plc based in Lagos, also described the people that were awarded the contract as, “clusters and cobblers who cannot be identified with a genuine manufacturing trade mark.”
He said: “The Minister of State, Trade and Investment, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar met with the Association over the cries that the Federal Government has sidelined the shoe manufacturing companies in the country due to non-patronage.