The Senate on Tuesday appealed to the Federal Government to ban importation of textiles for a period of five years to allow for the production of local textiles.
The upper chamber also appealed to the Federal Government to provide the necessary infrastructural facilities especially power supply to local textile manufacturing companies to revamp the industry.
It also called on the government to encourage local textile manufacturing companies by providing them with soft loans and easy access to credit facilities through the Bank of Industry.
Barkiya noted that the textile industry played a significant role in the manufacturing sector of the Nigerian economy with a record of over 140 companies in the 1960s and 1970s.
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“The textile industry recorded an annual growth of 67 per cent and as of 1991, employed above 25 per cent of the workers in the manufacturing sector. The textile industry was then the highest employer of labour apart from the civil service.”
He noted that the industry had witnessed massive decline in the last two decades with many textile companies such as Kaduna Textile, Kano Textile and Aba Textile closing shop and throwing their workers into the job market.Contributing, Senator Robert Boroffice (APC-Ondo North) said that the importation of textile materials was as a result of the comatose textile industry.
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“The closure of our borders is an eye opener. China closed its borders for 40 years for its industrialisation and development. I believe that the closure of our borders should be extended to allow us to put our house in order.”
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, said as Nigeria had signed the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement, Quote
“We have to be prepared for the repercussions.
“We cannot stop trading easily with other people. We have to up our game; we need to be competitive,”
Lawan said.“We cannot stop trading easily with other people. We have to up our game; we need to be competitive,”
Meanwhile, the National Assembly is working towards the passage of the 2020 Appropriation bill on Novemeber 28, President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan said, yesterday.
To achieve the target date, Lawan, during plenary mandated the Senate Committee on Appropriations, to submit its report on the 2020 Budget proposal on November 26.
He said the committee’s compliance with the presentation of its report on November 26 would facilitate the passage of the 2020 Budget on November 28, before the National Assembly would proceed on Christmas break.
He said:
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“On the Budget 2020 we are working on, the ball is now in the court of Senate Committee on Appropriations, the last committee standing.
“All the committees have done their work so well within the defined parameters and we, therefore, expect the Appropriations Committee to produce the report and lay it here by November 26, the next two weeks.
“I believe that the same thing will be done in our sister chamber, the House of Representatives, so that we are able to pass the Appropriation Bill 2020 on the Nov. 28, by the Grace of God.”
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has lauded the National Assembly for its speedy consideration of the Finance Bill, 2020 submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari.“All the committees have done their work so well within the defined parameters and we, therefore, expect the Appropriations Committee to produce the report and lay it here by November 26, the next two weeks.
“I believe that the same thing will be done in our sister chamber, the House of Representatives, so that we are able to pass the Appropriation Bill 2020 on the Nov. 28, by the Grace of God.”
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