Abdulraheem Aodu
28 July 2008
Kaduna — The Nigeria Export Import Bank (NEXIM) has said the N70 billion textile resuscitation fund was ready but that companies and farmers have not been able to meet the conditions set for them.
The bank's Managing Director, Malam Baba Yusuf Ahmed, told Daily Trust in Kaduna at the weekend that the fund, which a loan to help cotton growers obtain improved seedling and other agriculture inputs and textile industries upgrade their machineries and facilities, was ready for any of the stakeholders that was ready to meet the conditions.
He noted that reviving the textile industry goes beyond giving out cash to the companies, saying that they have to state what kind of support they need.
Ahmed, who led the NEXIM management to meet with Northern Governors Forum during its meeting last Thursday in Kaduna, said the meeting gave them NEXIM the opportunity to explain to the northern governors the state of affairs on the textile revival fund.
"NEXIM Bank was given special assignment to raise the N70 billion needed from banks to revive the textile industry in the country which we are doing. We are working with the banks. We are also working with the stakeholders in the textile industry so they cannot complain of not accessing the fund. We met with textile manufacturers, textile workers association, Cotton producers and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
"We have given them some conditions to be met. Once they satisfy those conditions, we would start disbursing the funds to them as expected. This is not a Federal Government grant but a loan initiated and guaranteed by the Federal Government. We have to do necessary credit check," he said.
However, General Secretary of the National Union of Textile Garments and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, Comrade Issa Aremu, who led textile workers in a peaceful protest to the venue of the governors' forum meeting, warned that the process of disbursing the N70 billion textile revival fund should not be hijacked by traders, importers and other parasitic anti-industry elements.
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