Central Bank of Nigeria has created over half a million jobs through the Cotton, Textile, and Garment (CTG) sector.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through its intervention in the Cotton, Textile, and Garment (CTG) sector has created over 620,000 direct and indirect jobs in two years.
The CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele disclosed this during a stakeholders’ engagement for the resuscitation of the CTG sector in Abuja on Tuesday.
Emefiele stated that the jobs were created through some measures targeted at enhancing the fortunes of operators in the CTG sector while working to stop the smuggling and dumping of textile materials in the country.
The governor, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Corporate Services Directorate, Edward Adamu said the measures, include “disbursing over N44 billion between 2019 and 2020 across the value chain and monitoring recovery over the period.”
The Apex bank also increased the industry capacity of ginneries from an average of 19 per cent to 51 per cent, with the textile sector getting 100 per cent of their major raw material (cotton lint) at a CBN-subsidised rate of N440,000 as against the market price of N593,000.
Also, CBN engaged uniformed services to start patronising made-in-Nigeria textiles for their uniform and ensuring that the garment industry received orders for the production of uniforms and cotton harvest bags.
Emefiele also said: “The CBN’s engagement with uniformed services has led to at least five agencies partnering with local textile manufacturers.”
Gatekeepers News gathered that this was an addition to the CBN supports, “the textile companies in the last two to three years, leading to the revival of some previously moribund companies”.
According to him, the apex bank is working with prime anchors for 10,000 hectares of land with an estimated output of 20,000 metric tons.
They would also continue working with associations to cultivate about 80,000 hectares of land with an average output of 120,000mt at 1.5mt per hectare.
