Patronage of made in Nigeria products by Nigerians is important and can contribute to the revival of the cotton, textile and garment industries, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has said.
Osinbajo said this on Thursday at the State House in Abuja during a meeting with stakeholders and members of the Implementation Committee on the National Cotton, Textile and Garment Policy.
“Nigerians buying Nigerian products is very important and it goes beyond the symbolism of wearing Nigerian-made dresses. It is important for our economy and well-being,” he said.
The Vice President said the challenge of smuggling of foreign textile materials into the country had to be tackled, stressing that “it is up to all of us to see that this particular initiative works, we have talked enough.”
Speaking at the meeting, Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Aisha Abubakar said the ministry came up with the cotton, textile and garment policy in order to provide “a suit of interventions across the value chain.”
She said the interventions include encouraging local patronage, controlling smuggling, production of improved seedling,training and upgrading and modernisation of infrastructure.
The minister said past attempts to revive the industries failed because they had only addressed the issue of funding.
