President Mohammadu Buhari yesterday directed the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Industrial Training Fund to provide special funds for the training of members of the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN).
The president gave the directive in Abuja yesterday when he declared open, the 31st annual national education conference of the NUTGTWN.
Buhari, represented by Registrar, Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria, Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, said the CBN and ITF should provide the training required for textile members to meet up with the quality and quantity required in the production of local fabrics expected by the implementation of the Executive Order 003.
“The existing 40,000 garment and textile workers must be trained and re-trained. I will use this opportunity to call on the CBN to collaborate with your union and the ITF to come in and encourage the union to provide funds to train and retrain the textile workforce in Nigeria,” the president said.
He said the union had the capacity to transform Nigeria’s rural economy and revive the sector by creating more than 2 million jobs, assuring that “we are going to ensure that the garment industry is expanded.”
Buhari said the closure of Nigeria’s land borders and import restriction was to encourage local production and benefit local industries.
NUTGTWN General Secretary Comrade Issa Aremu, said the borders’ closure had helped to overhaul the textile and garment industry in the country.
He, however, stressed that the border closure should not be permanent.
