Leather and Allied Products Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (LAPMAN), has called on the Federal Government to stop the policy on Export Expansion Grant (EEG) to save local industries from collapse.

The call was contained in a petition which the association sent to the Kano State House of Assembly Committee on Commerce and signed by its Chairman, Board of Trustees, Alhaji Bashir Danyaro.

The petition, a copy of which was made available to journalists in Kano on Sunday, also called for the urgent probe of the importation value of leather in 2008.

According to the association, the probe is necessary to unravel the high level scandal that charaterised the exercise.

The association said the policy was originally designed to assist the sector but was hijacked by few powerful foreigner- individuals who allegedly syphoned the fund to the detriment of other sectors.

It also noted that the EEG policy had led to job losses in local leather industries, pointing out that the promotion of local content had also been relegated.

The associated contended that beneficiaries of EEG in the leather sector had driven the price to all time high, thereby making it impossible for local users of leather to make profit.

The petition lamented that the abuse of the policy had led to the closure of several shoe companies that were once household names in the country.

It called for urgent scrutiny of the grant to ascertain the level of abuse by the operators.

“Our industries are at present in a serious jeopardy and facing imminent collapse if your committee recommends the continuation of this EEG.”