President Muhammadu Buhari has said that a recent directive he gave the country’s Armed Forces and all uniformed organisations to use Nigerian-produced garments for their uniforms was meant to create many jobs and boost the economy.
“As a starting point, I recently directed all government uniformed institutions to patronise the use of locally-produced garments. Already, the Bureau of Public Procurement has been notified to ensure strict compliance. “One can just imagine the jobs we will create in the sector when the Nigerian Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Customs, Immigration, Federal Road Safety Corps, National Youth Service Scheme and many more, fully patronise our local industries,” Buhari said.
He spoke at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, during a meeting with the National Executive Council of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers. The group was led by its President, Mr John Adaji.
Defending the urgency to create more jobs, the President tied the rise in crimes, especially in the North lately, to the closure of many textile factories. He informed the group that the government’s new approach was to support such local factories to help them to bounce back to life again. He called on state governments to key into the policy of patronising local garments by using locally-made cloth for school and hospital uniforms. The General Secretary of the union, Issa Aremu, who spoke on behalf of the members, expressed sadness over the closure of many textile factories over the years, noting that the sector used to be a major job creator in the 70’s and 80’s.
“He also saluted the textile-friendly policies of the administration, such as the interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Executive Order on the use of local garments by uniformed organizations, among others”, the Presidency said in statement by Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina. PUNCH
