The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, says that the Federal Government has secured $3.5 billion in investments to enhance Nigeria’s textile, cotton, and apparel sector in Nigeria in one year.
Uzoka-Anite made this disclosure during the ministerial press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday.
She said this investment is part of the ministry’s initiative to rejuvenate the long-dormant textile industry.
She also noted that Nigeria’s textile sector encompasses the complete clothing value chain in the country.
According to the minister, investment in the textile industry will generate employment for both skilled and unskilled labour across Nigeria.
“The Ministry is developing a resurgence plan for the Nigeria cotton, textile and apparel industry in partnership with development partners and private sector players. We have attracted $3.5 billion to unlock the textile, cotton and apparel industry.
“As you know, Nigeria’s textile and apparel industry covers the entire clothing value chain and has a strong potential for growth due to the availability of cotton and the country’s market size.
“This industry is one of the top contributors to the manufacturing sector of the economy with huge potential for employment for both skilled and unskilled labour with extensive capacity for generating export earnings and attracting foreign direct investment, therefore reducing poverty,” Uzoka-Anite added.
Nigeria’s textile industry continues to struggle despite the country’s huge market potential for cotton production.
In the 1970s, Nigeria happened to be an industrial hub for textile production, boasting about 180 textile mills, and employing more than one million Nigerians.
Among these were United Nigerian Textile Limited, Aswani Textile, Afprint, Asaba Textile Mills, and Edo Textile Mills, among others.
However, by the 1990s, these once-prosperous companies disappeared, facing obstacles such as rampant smuggling, unchecked importation, erratic power supply, unpredictable government policies, and growing insecurity which rendered them uncompetitive.
Latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that textiles contributed a negative 1.75% to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2024, making it one of the underperforming industries in Nigeria.
Interestingly, the manufacturing sector, which also covers the textile industry, contributed a positive 1.49% to the real GDP growth of the first quarter of 2024.
Accordingly, the manufacturing sector is one of the most performing non-oil sectors that contributed to Nigeria’s GDP in the first quarter.
Other sectors included telecommunications, agriculture, trade, as well as the burgeoning real estate sector.
