NECA calls for improved border policing

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The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, has sued for improved border policing to complement the foreign exchange (forex) restriction on textile importation.

Director-General of NECA, Mr. Timothy Olawale, applauded the Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to stop the sale of forex to importers of textile materials adding that the decision will revive the textile industry in Nigeria.

Recall that the CBN last week banned the sale of forex to importers of textile materials.

Reflecting on the history of the textile industry, Olawale said, “The first modern textile mill in Nigeria, Kaduna Textile Mill, was started in 1956 in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria and between then and 1987, there were 37 textile firms in the country, operating about 716,000 spindles and 17,541 looms. This period was indeed, the glorious era of the textile industry. With an annual growth rate of 65 percent between 1985 and 1991, while employing about 25 percent of workers in the manufacturing sector, the textile industry, then, could be called the pride of Nigeria.”

He stressed the importance of policing the country’s borders noting that the porous nature of the borders has made smuggling a lucrative enterprise which could hinder the effort of the CBN in supporting the textile industry.

Olawale also called for the support of  the Customs, Immigration and other related agencies involved in keeping the borders secure  and also protect the textile industry and  the manufacturing industry as a whole.