The Asaba Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ASACCIMA) has urged the federal and state governments to revitalise the textile industry in the country to create more jobs.
The President of the chamber, Mr Emmanuel Moweta, made the call in an interview with newsmen in Asaba.
Moweta appealed to governments at all tiers to encourage cotton production and provide the enabling environment that would encourage private sector participation for the industry to thrive.
He noted that the provision of critical infrastructure, such as electricity and good transportation system were crucial for the industry to boom.
The ASSACCIMA president said that one textile industry had the capacity to employ between 1, 000 and 10,000 workers, depending on the number of shifts it ran.
He said that the industry had a value chain of cotton cultivation, fabrics production and fashion business, which would boost the economy of the country.
“By the time you calculate the impact, definitely more jobs would have been created for the youths and women,” he said.
Moweta noted that in the past, the industry played a dominant role in boosting the nation’s economy.
“Nigeria witnessed a boom in the textile industry in the 1960s and 1980s with companies such as Kano, Kaduna and Aba textile mills and others employing millions of people.
The industry was able to contribute highly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“The situation changed, following the shifting of focus to oil and government’s neglect of the agriculture sector. The abandonment of the sector has adversely affected the textile industry,’’ he said.