The Federal Government, in partnership with the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), has launched efforts to revive Nigeria’s cotton industry.
The initiative aims to create over 1.4 million jobs annually in the cotton and textile sector, focusing on developing key components of the cotton value chain, including farming, weaving, ginning, and linking cotton, in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s industrialization agenda.
This decision emerged from a meeting on Tuesday between Vice President Kashim Shettima and an ICAC delegation led by its Executive Director, Mr. Eric Trachtenberg, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
After listening to the ICAC delegation and other meeting participants, Senator Shettima urged stakeholders to devise a roadmap for revitalizing the cotton/textile sector in Nigeria, emphasizing the need for action over talk.
The Vice President assured that the Tinubu administration would make deliberate efforts to leverage opportunities in the cotton value chain and ensure Nigeria reclaims its ICAC membership.
He expressed gratitude to the delegation for their visit and acknowledged ICAC’s commitment to developing the sector in Africa, highlighting the diverse expertise within ICAC that brings a nuanced understanding of the complexities and opportunities in the cotton value chain.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos highlighted his state’s strategic position to exploit opportunities in the cotton value chain, given its factories, market, and critical role in the business ecosystem of the cotton sub-sector.
Sanwo-Olu expressed enthusiasm for the revival of the cotton and textile sector, particularly for job creation and economic transformation, pledging Lagos State’s readiness to support cotton production from other parts of the country for local companies.
Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State remarked that the meeting with the ICAC delegation marks the beginning of Nigeria’s efforts to revitalize the textile industry as part of the broader goal of industrializing the economy.
