By Rashidat Aminu
Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday said Nigeria’s leather products industry will generate over $1 billion by the year 2025 and create employment for over 7000 Nigerians.
The Vice President made this known on Tuesday in Abuja at the formal launch and sensitisation workshop on the National Leather and Leather Products policy implementation plan.
Osinbajo said that the leather products value chain will afford Nigeria over 70% increase in foreign exchange earnings in a few years’ time.
He described the implementation of the leather products policy as holistic, adding that it will also provide a more sustainable infrastructure development plan and guaranteed access to credit facilities for business people.
He said Nigeria’s emergence as a regional leader in leather products is now, explaining that Spain, Italy, China and the West African sub-region are prime destinations for Nigerian leather products.
In his address, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, hailed the leather products policy as the first strategic implementation plan for the leather and leather products policy in the country.
He said: “The ministry is supporting the initiative through offering leadership in the transformation of our economy from a resource-based to a knowledge and innovation driven one.”
Onu further said the policy will help the effective and efficient exploitation of Nigeria’s natural resources, earn and conserve foreign exchange, create jobs and help promote the country’s drive for self-reliance.
He called on all relevant stakeholders to facilitate both foreign and domestic investments into the subsector, adding: “We need to transform our plan into action, we need all stakeholders to work together, we need to involve the Organised Private Sector (OPS), we need to bring in more investment, both domestic and foreign into the leather industry.
The Minister of State for Science and Technology, Barr. Mohammed Abdullahi, in his remark, said the implementation plan is delicate and vital to reposition Nigeria for socio-economic growth and development.
According to him, the implementation plan covers 8 thematic areas of Research and Development, Governance, Intellectual property Rights, E-Leather, Compliance, Environment and social best practices, standards, marketing and patronage, Funding as well as Fiscal measures and critical Infrastructure.
He also noted that if the leather policy is fully implemented, it will create an enabling environment that will sustain an all-inclusive growth for local and small enterprise as well attract and protect investments, improve production output and promote innovation in the country.
Messrs. Adetayo Otuyemi and Maryam Zakari, of the Press/PR Department of the Ministry jointly anchored the story for: EXTRAORDINAIREPEOPLE.COM