Lawrence Olaoye 
The Federal Government has projected to create 1.4 million jobs by resuscitating the cotton/textile industries in the country. This, according to Vice President Kashim Shettima, would be in collaboration with the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).
According to him, the focus was to develop key components of the cotton value chain, comprising farming, weaving, ginning and linking of cotton, all in line with the industrialisation drive of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
This was the outcome of a meeting held yesterday between Shettima and a delegation from the ICAC led by its Executive Director, Mr Eric Trachtenberg, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Speaking after remarks from the ICAC delegation and other participants at the meeting, Shettima urged stakeholders to come up with a roadmap for the revitalisation of the cotton/textile sector in Nigeria, noting that “it is time to work more and talk less.”
The Vice President assured that Tinubu’s administration would make conscious efforts to ensure the country harnessed opportunities in the cotton value chain, including ensuring that Nigeria regained its ICAC membership.
He thanked the delegation for the visit, just as he acknowledged ICAC’s commitment to the development of the sector in Africa, noting, “your diverse backgrounds in ICAC gives a nuance understanding of the complexities and opportunities in the cotton value chain.”
Earlier in his remarks, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said Lagos was well positioned to harness opportunities in the cotton value chain, given that it hosts factories, the market and was a critical component of the business ecosystem for the cotton sub-sector.
His words: Lagos, as an integral part of the cotton value chain in Nigeria, would support every effort by stakeholders to revamp the sector to enable the state sustain its status as the largest fashion hub in the continent. The governor expressed excitement at the possibility and opportunity for the resuscitation of the cotton and textile sector with a particular focus on job creation and economic transformation.
Sanwo-Olu pledged the state’s readiness to off-take cotton produced in other parts of the country for companies based within the area.
On his part, Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State said Imo State and the South Eastern region would key into the renewed effort to revamp the cotton/textile sector with the bid to create jobs for the people and for the overall industrialisation drive of the country.”
In his remarks, Trachtenberg said he was pleased with the level of interest and commitment shown by the leadership of the country and other stakeholders in reviving the industry in Nigeria. Citing examples in China, India, Pakistan and other parts of the world, the ICAC executive director said the potential in the cotton value chain was huge and had proven to be transformative.
He said the ICAC would support Nigeria’s cotton value chain revamp by offering expert advice in improving productivity and boosting the value chain and investment facilitation. Among top officials at the meeting were the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji; Director-General, Budget Office, Dr Tanimu Yakubu; Director-General, Raw Material Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, and Director General, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Dr Jummai Tutuwa.
