Some stakeholders in the textile industry have said that smuggling of textile materials into the country would hinder the revitalization of the sector.
The stakeholders made the observation in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Director-General, Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dr John Osemede said that smuggling of textile materials would impede government’s efforts to revive the sector.
Some stakeholders in the textile industry have said that smuggling of textile materials into the country would hinder the revitalization of the sector.
The stakeholders made the observation in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Director-General, Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dr John Osemede said that smuggling of textile materials would impede government’s efforts to revive the sector.
Osemede said that some banned textile materials from China, Benin Republic, and Asian countries were still finding their ways into the Nigerian markets.
He said that the menace would hinder government’s efforts to revive the sector if was not urgently addressed.
Osemede said that security officials at the nation’s seaports and airports should be held responsible for the influx of smuggled items, especially textile materials.
“Smuggling must be checked to increase the contribution of the sector to the GDP,” he said.
Mr Stanly Mutu, the Sales Executive of United Textiles Ltd. (UNTL) in Lagos, said that banned textile materials from China had choked the Nigerian textile products in the market.
He urged the Federal Government to stand firm to protect the business interests of local textile manufacturers.
“What we need in the textile sector is protection by the Federal Government.
“Most of the banned products have littered Nigerian markets through smuggling.
“No matter the revival efforts or funds that the Federal Government is planning for the textile industry, smuggling remains the major issue that needs to be addressed.
“No Nigerian can try what the foreigners are doing here in their countries because they are well protected by their governments,” he said.
Prof. Vremudia Diejomaoh, a former President, Nigerian Economic Society (NES), urged the Federal Government to ensure effective policing of the borders to prevent banned textile materials from entering Nigerian markets.
Diejomaoh said that smuggling of banned materials would frustrate efforts of the Federal Government to revive the textile industry.
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