Border closure will revive industries – NACOTAN

The National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN) has said the closure of borders by the Federal Government has not only curtailed importation of smuggled textile materials into Nigeria but is reviving the cotton, textile and garment sub-sectors. The president of the association, Mr Anibe Achimugu made this known in an interview with the News Agency […]

The National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN) has said the closure of borders by the Federal Government has not only curtailed importation of smuggled textile materials into Nigeria but is reviving the cotton, textile and garment sub-sectors.

The president of the association, Mr Anibe Achimugu made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. Lauding the closure of borders, he said the reduction in the influx of textile materials into the country had boosted the morale of players in the sub-sector to go back to work.

According to him, the major advantage of the closure is the control it has brought to the importation of smuggled textile materials, including used clothes.

“The closure has reduced that significantly, but it also put a burden on us to fill the gap. We have to start developing our internal capacities to meet the need of Nigerians.

“The association is fully in support of the partial closure of borders. Internally, we must come up with strategies to ensure that we protect our local markets and industries.

“What this means for us as an association is that we have to look inward to encourage our farmers to adhere to best agricultural practices to produce the kind of cotton the textile mills will buy.

Achimugu noted that the Anchor Borrowers Programme had helped a great deal in taking the sub-sector out of the woods. He added that with the intervention, the cotton association alone could boast of 151,000 farmers across the country, a feat that could not be achieved before the intervention.

He assured Nigerians that the association would continue to work to ensure that cotton is readily aggregated, while farmers are trained on proper handling of cotton and use of equipment.

The Federal Government had, on August 21, ordered a partial closure of the borders to check smuggling activities around Benin, Niger and Chad.

The smuggling routes around the country’s borders are in Seme (Lagos); Jibiya (Katsina); Idiroko (Ogun); Illela-Koni (Sokoto); Kabo, Saki,  Sikanda (Oyo), among others.