Breaking: Nigeria’s Apex Bank Adds Garments And Textile Materials On Import Restrictions List

In the early 1980’s, Nigeria was adjudged to be home to Africa’s largest textile industry, with over 180 textile mills in operations and close to 450,000 people employed. The situation suddenly changed with the industrial sector especially the textile subsector gasping for breath after years of neglect by successive governments as only 25 textile factories are now operating at below 20 percent of their production capacities and the workforce at less than 20,000. Nigeria currently spends above $4 billion annually on imported textiles and ready-made clothing. To address this anomaly, the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, said in order to put smiles on the faces of the players in the textile industrial sector as well as revive the sector for the nation’s economic benefit, the apex bank will give financial support to the manufacturers with the provision of funds at single digits rate, to refit, retool and upgrade their factories in order to produce high quality textile material.