Governor Emefiele Pledges Assistance to Textile Owners

 

The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has met with the owners of textile industries in the country with a view to assisting them overcome challenges that hamper production. During the meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, September 29, 2015, Mr. Emefiele emphasized that the textile industries must be assisted to operate optimally in order to create more jobs and boost the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

 

While expressing concern over the multiple challenges of power, smuggling and financing facing the industry, Mr. Emefiele pledged that the Bank would take the issues up with the relevant authorities.

 

 

Speaking further, the CBN Governor observed that some of the industries, in an attempt to resume full production, had accessed loans from the Bank of Industry (BoI) but had concerns about short tenure and moratorium.

 

The Governor therefore sought for the commitment of the industrialists, especially those still operating at minimal scale, to assist them access more finance from the banks. Accordingly, he urged them to articulate all their concerns in a formal letter to the Bank, in order to enable the Bank take necessary action.

 

 

Responding on behalf of the textile owners, representative of the United Nigeria Textile Limited (UNTL), Alhaji Isma’ila Isa Funtua, called for the restructuring of the BoI loan as well as helping to make cotton, which is the primary raw material for any textile industry, available to the textile owners. A committee of the textile owners was thereafter constituted and given the mandate of drafting the formal complaint to the CBN.

 

 

Present at the meeting were the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Dr. (Mrs.) Sarah Alade; Special Adviser to the Governor on Development Finance, Mr. Paul Eluhaiwe, and Alhaji Ibrahim Mu’azu and Dr. Mudashiru Olaitan, Directors of Corporate Communications and Development Finance Departments, respectively.