The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria,
Mr. Godwin Emefiele, on Friday disclosed that the central bank was
planning a fresh bailout for the textile industry in order to revive it
to become a major employer of labour.
He said the planned intervention fund
would come in a single-digit interest rate and long-tenured loans to
players in the sector particularly those in the cotton, textile and
garment segments.
Emefiele stated this at a CBN-initiated stakeholders meeting with players in the industry.
The governor said the objective of the
meeting was to see how the CBN could revive the textile industry and
place it on the path of sustainable growth for the country.
He said, “A sub-sector that once employed
over one million hardworking Nigerians is now almost completely
dominated by imports from Asia. We are all aware of the challenges that
have beset and continue to plague the industry and I am under no
illusion that this meeting will immediately resolve these issues.
“The
central bank under my leadership is prescribing to work with the
industry to come up with holistic solutions for the long-term
sustainable development of the sector. I can assure you that the bank is
ready to provide funding under our Real Sector Support Facility for the
industry.
“Mr. President is committed to the
rejuvenation and revival of this sector and he is desirous of bringing
this industry back to life.”
He added, “This in my humble opinion is
the crux of this meeting, which I will like us to keenly deliberate
upon. How for instance, can we get cotton farmers to increase their
output, reducing dependency on imports? Or how can all stakeholders form
a strong advocacy to create a more enabling environment for the sector
to thrive once again? I am confident that with our collective efforts,
we can finally change the sad narratives about this industry.
The CBN governor, however, stressed that
the problems that had stunted the growth of the textile industry was far
beyond funding.
As a way of solving some of the problems
facing the sector, Emefiele said he had recently met with the
Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, as part of the
efforts to tackle smuggling of textile goods.
He said it was disheartening that an
industry that literally touched the fabric of the entire country now
pales in the shadow of its past success.
Emefiele pointed out that the human needs
for clothing and the competitive advantage of the country had made the
sector a formidable one in the country’s path to industrialisation in
the 1970s and 1980s.
During this era, he noted that the
textile industries were spread across the country, with many mills
located in Kaduna, Lagos, Funtua, Gusau, Asaba, Aba, Kano and a host of
other cities.
He explained, “There were well over 159
vibrant textile mills operating at close to full production capacities.
Indeed, Kaduna was known as the ‘Textile City’ of the country, because
of the preponderance of huge integrated textile mills domiciled in the
city. Unfortunately, these glory days are now distant memories.”
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