The Minister of Interior, retired Lt.-Gen Abdulrahman Dambazau, has announced plans to end the importation of textile materials for producing uniforms by all Services under the Ministry of Interior.
The minister disclosed this in a statement issued by his Press Secretary, Mr Ehisienmen Osaigbovo, on Thursday in Abuja.
Osaigbovo said that Dambazau made the disclosure when the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno, led the management team of the New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC) to the Ministry to seek Dambazau’s support for the revitalisation of the company’s textile industry.
The meeting also had in attendance, the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Audu Ogbe, the Comptroller-General of Customs, retired Col. Hameed Ali ,the Controller-General of the Federal Fire Service and the Controller-General of the Nigeria Prisons Service, among others.
The minister reminded the various heads of agencies at the meeting of the the need to adhere strictly to the Executive Order on support for local content in public procurement.
The statement quoted Dambazau as admonishing the agencies to be guided by the Presidential Order in procuring uniforms and other accoutrements captured in the 2018 budget.
It also quoted Damazau as saying that there was the need to support the revitalisation of the Nigerian textile industry.
Dambazau said that he hoped that the current effort at reviving the nation’s textile industries would ensure the complete production of uniforms and other accoutrements locally, by 2019.
He said domesticating the production of security personnel uniforms would not only boost Nigeria’s gross domestic products,” it will also create employment opportunities for our teeming youths”.
He said that it would also reduce proliferation of such uniforms by criminal elements, while deepening internal security.
The statement said the security agencies all lauded the plans to domesticate the production of uniform materials and other accoutrements used by security Services in Nigeria.(NAN)