Emmanuel Cobham, the Director-General of
NACCIMA, has condemned the recent revocation of the ban on importation
of textiles products.
He said that the revocation of the ban would expose the Nigerian textile industry to serious danger.
Cobham said lifting the embargo on
importation of textile products would be counterproductive to
government’s efforts to revive the moribund textiles sector of the
economy.
The Federal Government, through the
Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Alhaji Abdullahi
Dikko, on June 22 announced the lifting of the ban on textile and
furniture products.
Dikko said Nigerians could now import textile materials into the country if the right duties were paid.
“We are mortgaging our economy; the
economy will not grow under such circumstances. We now depend on China
and India for things that can be locally produced.
“We need to protect our industries
because there are various stages of development – when we crawl, fall,
stand, walk, and within this period, we scrutinise ourselves for
changes.
“The stage where we run is when the
international community accepts that our products meet international
standards and embrace them.”
Cobham, however, said that the lifting
of ban on importation of textile products could bring competition that
would drive local textile manufacturers towards excellence.
“It is a challenge to local textile
producers. No matter the odds against them, the more they produce and
are in the market, the greater their chances of improvement.”
NAN
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