Buhari Demands Local Materials For Military, Others’ Wears

• As Emefiele, Security chiefs partner on presidential Order

BY COBHAM NSA, ABUJA – Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele has frowned at the slow response by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to the Executive Order 3 issued by President Muhammadu Buhari on local sourcing of uniform materials for their personnel.

This is as he pledged the apex bank’s commitment to partner with the Nigerian Military and other security agencies to source their uniform materials on the domestic front in line with measures at ensuring smooth and successful implementation of the Presidential directive.

Speaking at a meeting with the Nation’s Service Chiefs, Heads of para-military organisations and other uniformed services in Abuja on Thursday, Emefiele said CBN enjoys full presidential support in the task of revamping the Cotton, Garment and Textiles (CGT) industry to boost the economy as a key income earner for the country.

He said; “We have the mandate of Mr President to ensure that all uniformed services and theatre wears in hospitals and medical facilities be sourced locally from the Nigerian CTG sector.

“To ensure the success of the Presidential Order, the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has been notified to enforce compliance among MDAs.

“Our model in achieving this presidential directive is to facilitate long term contracts (five years or more) with our textile and garment factories to produce uniforms for our armed forces and uniform services using local fabrics and textile materials.”

Emefiele told the meeting held at CBN headquarters that the mandate is targeted at  enforcing Executive Order 003 on Support of Local Content in Procurement by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government towards reviving and repositioning Nigeria’s textile industry for sustainable growth and development.

According to the CBN boss, successful execution of the mandate is part of the Buhari administration’s efforts at economic diversification and job creation for the country’s teeming population with special emphasis on agricultural revolution.

He said having identified the CGT sector as critical to economic growth and development, government is convinced that with adequate investments would stimulate its inherent potentials and capacity to transform Nigeria’s rural economy by re-engineering the textile and garment industries to create over two million jobs; improve internal revenue across three tiers of government; and reduce $4.0bn import bill incurred annually on textile and apparels.

Emefiele, who noted that the sector also has potential to safeguard and earn foreign exchange and ultimately accelerate industrial development with Nigeria as a global player in the sector, “This event symbolizes our commitment to attain self-sufficiency in cotton production with a view to serving the Textile and Garment segments of the value chain with quality inputs as we target zero importation by the year 2020.”

He disclosed that there are ongoing consultations with stakeholders in the textile sector, adding; “We analysed the huge potentials that exist in the sector, identified the challenges militating against the sector’s contribution to Nigeria’s growth and development and presented quick wins for reviving the sector.”

The CBN Governor while restating the need to support local textiles manufacturers through patronage by MDAs as entrenched in the Executive Order 003, said; “Mr President has directed full compliance with this Order as it will help in addressing the pressure on our foreign reserves through demands for forex for the importation of textile and clothing materials.”

Emefiele however lamented that signals from stakeholders’ engagements with the CBN’s indicated MDAs were yet to comply with the Executive Order by making significant requests for uniforms or clothing materials from Nigerian textile manufacturers and garment firms.

Insisting that governments’ efforts at resuscitating the textile industry would only yield expected results through conscious local patronage among other incentives, the CBN Governor said; “We have put in place necessary mechanisms to ensure the use of high yielding varieties that will produce top quality fabrics and those that can compete in the international market.

“We have also observed that our textile factories are carrying huge quantities of unsold stock while our garment factories are idle due to lack of local patronage. We are optimistic that with your support, this trend can be reversed.”

Emefiele told the Security Chiefs that being conscious that the jobs would warrant special quality and security around the production of all security wares, the CBN’s “team will work with your nominees toward ensuring requisite quality and security associated with your uniforms.

“Your nominees will also join our team to inspect the various textiles and garment factories to ensure their readiness to be engaged on long term contracts to forestall breaches.”

“We shall work out payment terms that fit budget releases for uniforms for various organisations,” the Central Bank Chief assured.

In his remarks, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai lauded the CBN governor for the initiatives towards revamping the Cotton, Garments and Textiles (CGT) sector and ensuring that it regains its past glory as one of the major revenue earners for the country.