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• The Minister, Betta Edu and Gov Dapo Abiodun
The Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu has said that the Federal Government would subsidize adire (local fabric) production to boost the micro and macro economy of Ogun State and other parts country.
Edu said further that the FG has the intention to make the fabric become acceptable globally hence the need empower the local producer to boost their production capacity and the quality.
The minister who made this known on Saturday when she visited the Adire Mall in Itoku and Adire Market Asero – both in Abeokuta, the state capital, also hinted at the FG’s intention to establish adire production clusters across the three Senatorial districts of Ogun State and the need to ban importation of foreign Adire products.
According to her, government is ready to to utilise the existing opportunities in Adire production to lift millions of vulnerable Nigerians out of poverty.
“First, you must be able to push local production to meet the demand. Local production must be enhanced at all cost to meet the demand. When local products enhanced, subsided and supported by government, it will automatically eliminate whatever fluntuate coming in to the market.
“We don’t want to be selling fake Adire, made in China Adire brought into Nigeria. What we want is a local ones made by our people to create jobs, it will build micro and macro economy and it will help Nigeria to be more of the manufacturing country rather than an importing country.
“This are the things that are affecting the exchange rates and other indexes in Nigeria. Government will provide that subsidy for the people, so we take the fuel subsidy off the fuel, we will provide it for the Adire makers so that they can provide local Adire that will be used and exported out of the country.
“I was so happy yesterday when the governor and his team, commissioners said they are going to create hubs in Abuja where the original Adire would be sold. This is taking Abeokuta, Ogun State to the world, and this hubs can be created even at embassies in other countries around the world where we can export Adire.
“This is original one not the fake which is imitated and brought in. For us if we support the local manufacturers, subsidize this for them, bring more people into this to meet the demand, it will automatically eliminate the ones that coming in to country.
“We are here today in Ogun State basically, we want to see those areas we can support persons who are poor and be alleviated out of poverty and to get for of livelihood and skills that will help them strive and sustain families and of course come out of poverty.
“We have identified about Five things with governor yesterday. Governor and his team, commissioners five things we can do almost immediately that will really touch lives in Ogun State and this will be able to cover about 100 persons in Ogun State. Part of what we identified yesterday was the ADIRE creation which is really very typical to Ogun people; it is kind of their identify and what they are known to do very well.
“Adire has both the local production and modern production. We’ve been in the market to pick some of the fabrics, interact with the market people and Iyaloja all are here with us. We try to find out the what does it really take to get one of these products, how much do they cost in terms of production and final product on how they do the costing in the market.
“This cloth I am handling is N15,200, we have some the N25,000, N75,000 in the shops. We have come here to see how it locally made, the part of the process, dying stage, the drying and all of these stages that finally get to beautiful fabrics that will sell and export.
“We are planning the immediate to come and start the training, create new cluster for Adire in two other senatorial districts where it did not exist before. After that training, we will do a fashion show of Adire just to launch them out and ensure that they now get the new customers that will support them.
Adire is precious fabrics all over the world, people recognize and identify with it, so we can build the local production and ensure that more and more people get some of the livelihood, new skills and be able to make money for themselves and their families. Remember the President has targeted the next 42months to lift 50millions Nigerians our of poverty. This are the way we intend to do it,” she said
