The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has frozen the accounts of 15 textile smugglers across the country.
Deputy Governor Corporate Services of the CBN, Mr. Edward L. Adamu, made this disclosure at a stakeholders meeting of Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) associations in Abuja on Thursday.
Although the names of the affected smuggler were not mentioned, they were directed to shift patronage to local textile firms as restitution.
Adamu noted that the CBN was determined to revamp textile sector to its pre-eminent position, saying the sector is vital to Nigeria’s economy growth.
Some of the achievements, he said, include: over N120 billion invested across CTG value chain; over 320,000 farmers financed between 2018-2020, and expected output for seed cotton in 2020 is projected to be over 300,000 metric tons.
“All this is expected to enhance the production capacity of the ginneries in producing over 102,000 metric tons of cotton lint and this is expected to meet and surpass the cotton lint requirement of our textile Industries,” he said.
Nigeria’s domestic demand for cotton, according to him, is currently met through local production, thereby halting importation of cotton for the textile industry; increase in capacity utilization of ginneries as the ginneries now operate throughout the year, compared to six months in recent past.
In addition, he said 19 ginneries have been resuscitated across the country, and more are expected to join this year.
Speaking to journalists at the meeting the Director of Development Finance of the CBN, Mr. Philip Yusuf Yila, said the apex bank is “working with the textiles through the Bank of Industry to see how we can retool them and take the ginneries to the textile”
“We have completed phase one and phase two of the interventions in textile sector. We are where we are working with the textiles through the Bank of Industry to see how we can retool them and take the ginneries to the textile. CBN is really collaboration with all the agencies and the Customs.
“The biggest challenge is people smuggling textiles and garments. As you are aware a lot of them their accounts have been blocked. As restitution, we are telling them to go patronize the local textile factories.
“We are working with them, We have taken them to all the textile companies to see that the quality meets their standard.
“This year we are looking at over 300,000 tones of seed cotton that will be ginned into lint that will be taken to the textile companies and then we will work with the uniformed services to off-take them”.
In his response, the President of National Cotton Association of Nigeria, Anibe Achimugu lauded the bank for its intervention.
“As we speak, we have excess cottons in warehouses because the current capacity of the textile companies are not able to utilize the cotton for now. But of course since the CBN is intervening in the textile companies, they should be able to improve their capacities going forward,” he said.
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