ABUJA: The National Union of Textiles Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) has rejected the reported lifting of importation ban on textile products by the government, saying it is illegal and does not follow due process.
The Federal Government through the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, (NCS), Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko recently announced this week at the official launch of the implementation of Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Common External Tariff (CET) that Nigerians can now import textile materials into the country if right duties are paid.
But the General Secretary of NUTGTWN, Com. Issa Aremu said in Lagos on Thursday that the ban on importation of textiles into the country was a deliberate one by the Olusegun Obasanjo’s government in 2010, after due consultation from all stakeholders.
He listed the stakeholders as the Federal Government, Nigeria Custom Service (NCS), textile companies and the organised labour.
He said the ban was on realisation that Nigerian textile manufacturers have comparative advantage over foreign firms as the market is in the country and allowing imports will kill the already comatose textile industry.
Aremu, who is also the factional deputy president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said the ban on import was necessary if the textile industry should get back to its former glory and help in the industrialisation of Nigeria.
He said, “the textile import ban had been from the regime of President Obasanjo,with the late Yar’Adua retaining it and that of Jonathan also maintaining it till the end of his tenure when a circular against it was circulated.”
He therefore called on President Buhari to reverse the impunity that the lifting of import ban, saying “The lifting of the importation ban should be done if the process that led to it being in place is followed, that is for the government to call all stakeholders to deliberate on it.”
