By Jonah Nwokpoku

The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment,  Hajia Aishat Abubakar  has said the Federal Government is developing a holistic strategy to tackle the menace of smuggling which is threatening the patronage of locally manufactured goods.

The minister stated this during her visit and inspection of the production facilities of Lucky Fibres, manufacturers of Nobel Carpets in Lagos recently. She said the issue of smuggling is one challenge confronting the manufacturing sector in Nigeria and that the government is adopting a strategic approach to put an end to it.

She said:  “You need to exercise more patience because we don’t want to address a part of the problem, but a holistic approach is being put in place. It is not just this sector, but for all sectors. You manufacturers should also be watchdogs for one another because Government might not see all the lapses. But when you identify any challenge that threatens your work, approach us and let us see what we can also do to help.” The Minister however expressed satisfaction in the fact that the Nobel carpets and rugs are produced in Nigeria and exported to neighbouring countries like Ghana, Republic of Benin and Ethiopia, etc.

Also speaking, Mrs. Kemi Ajibade, Senior Head of Human Resources, Lucky Fibres Limited, while conducting the Minister through the company’s production facilities lamented the impact of smugglers’ activities, who take advantage of Nigeria’s porous borders in importing substandard carpets and rugs into the country.

According to Ajibade, “an average Nigerian does not know the difference in substandard and quality carpets, but will rather buy what is affordable in the market even if it does not serve for a long time. We urge government to assist us in addressing the activities of smugglers. If you visit Alaba Market, you will see different kinds of substandard carpets and rugs being displayed for sale. We import some of our production materials like polypropylene (PP) because local manufacturers could not meet the quality that our machine can work with. The machine is the latest in the industry and only works with high quality fibres.

“Local manufacturers of polypropylene in Nigeria usually complain that we are the only manufacturer in the sub sector of the Nigerian textile industry who demands for that quality because we want the best for our people. And since we cannot consume a large quantity of their quality polypropylene alone, they prefer to produce the substandard which is in popular demand.”

The minister, however assured the company of improvement in ensuring that all textile products are of good quality to meet international standards, urging the Lucky Fibre management team to device means to work with local manufacturers in order for the country to achieve the made in Nigeria vision.

In his remarks, General Manager, Lucky Fibres, Jitesh Pamnani, thanked the Minister for the inspection and promised that the company will continue to put in the best machine, technology and manpower to keep the industry flourishing.