NEPC’s EXPORT EXPANSION GRANT: How unexplained exclusion affects women, others in garment industry from benefiting

*’We applied, confirmed but received nothing – Garment Factory Owners’

*’We need the grant, others have benefit, our industry badly affected’

By BASHIR ADEFAKA

Although the garment sector has players across gender and is cross-regionally based, the fact that it is women dominated, many have said, should challenge an interested Federal Government of Nigeria to ensure that the sector does not collapse through lack of support whereas, other sectors have gotten one bailout one way or another. 

Towards achieving and unlocking human potential on a transformational scale, the world has moved along the line of investing in gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Before the world gets there, some women of virtues in Nigeria, moving at the same pace with their male counterpart, have helped themselves to go – by self effort – and stand where the world is going.  That informs the reason the Federal Government of Nigeria needs not throw away, by nonchalance, the opportunity it currently has with these women in the garment sector of CTG, Cotton-Textile-Garment value chain of the economy.

Although the garment sector has players across gender and is cross-regionally based, the fact that it is women dominated, many have said, should challenge an interested Federal Government of Nigeria to ensure that the sector does not collapse through lack of support whereas, other sectors have gotten one bailout one way or another.

Observers are also of the view that this reality should make it a major concern when players in the sector, who are confirmed garment factories owners, are either shortchanged or are unexplainably excluded from benefiting from opportunities such as COVID-19 palliatives and, now, Export Expansion Grant (EEG) currently handled by the Nigerian Export Promotions Council (NEPC), after they have applied for such grant, their factories verified and applications approval confirmed but the fund does not come to them.

It should be more of concern when players in other sectors have benefited from both COVID-19 palliatives and Export Expansion Grant because, questions that have emanated from such sad feeling have been: “If other sectors of the economy have benefited, does it mean our non-benefiting is explanation of irrelevance? If no, then, why did our own money not come to us if it has been approved? And it has come out of the Council, to what destination account?”

Findings showed that these garment factories owners, at every stage of such intervention well intentioned government, applied in their individual company’s name but never enjoyed any of the benefits.

Notable among the garment factories in Nigeria include El-Jahab Mubarak Nig Ltd, Crown Natures Nigeria, Ruff and Tumble, Sam and Sara Nig Ltd, OSC, Wessy Creations, O J Boxers, MTC Garment Factory Ltd, Lekki Garment Factory and they are scattered across the regions; North mainly Kaduna, South West mainly Lagos and the South East mainly Abia.

They at individual levels took the bull by the horns by taking the final stage of the Cotton-Textile-Garment value chain and established the garment factories that are not just the tailor shop thing but real industries capable of contributing to the Nigeria’s GDP through effective export, if supported considering the rudiments for achieving scalable products for export purposes.

They were doing well before the COVID-19 period and became affected by the pandemic, although they played great roll providing nose masks and other materials required to fight the dangerous disease at its peak, and have required to be supported by the government of Nigeria, which is part of the world movement towards attaining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for everyone by Year 2030.

In October, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Dr. Ezra Yakusak, as new Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council to succeed Mr. Segun Awolowo, with his appointment taking effect from 27 November, 2021. Until his appointment, Dr. Yakusak was the Director, Policy and Strategy, in the Council and had also served as Secretary to the Governing Board of the NEPC, which gives him the impetus to be abreast of where it stopped and then be able to take it up from there.

It is on the strength of this background and considering the fact that year 2021 is ending and that 2022 should start with them on a good standing, the garment factories are appealing to the new Ezra Yakusak-led management of NEPC to come to their aid as they need the grant to be released to them in good time.

Now making their case under the aegis of Garment Factory Owners in Nigeria, these players are asking the government and particularly the Nigerian Export Promotions Council (NEPC) to look into their matter.

Speaking on behalf of others, Mrs Sola Babatunde of OSC and Otunba Wasiu Taiwo of Wessy Creations pleaded with the NEPC, which they claim is fully aware of the contributions of the garment sector, to expedite action at ensuring that they get the grant in good time.

“Some of us have applied for the grant already, while some have been applying for several months.  And you see other people in Nigeria and other sectors are benefiting from the grant.

“And, particularly, right now we have products that are exportable and, if we don’t have this support, we cannot move them.

“We have not benefited anything from the COVID-19 relief and we are also heavily affected by the situation.

“We are worried that this year is coming to an end and we could have a different excuse for not fulfilling our request next. Other sectors are benefiting including agriculture.

“Government was going to give the grant, I don’t know why they excluded us, because we applied like other sectors did, and we were given the assurance that some of us have scape through, but we are yet to receive the fund whereas, other people have received it, and we are not getting any feedback.  So, we don’t know even where we stand,” they said.

Passionately speaking, they said: “We are supposed to be at the end of the value chain of the Cotton-Textile-Garment revival programme, which means we are the ones transforming textile and others.  We are the ones concluding it to a finished product, making it available in the consumer market.

“And it from us the consumer market can be fed both locally and internationally just like the way it is done in other countries like Bangladesh, Indian and China.

“During the pandemic, we as the garment industries, produced more than enough nose masks in order to contribute to the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria.

“For the consideration of all of that, none of the garment factories has benefited from government support since the emergence of COVID-19.

“With the kind of operation we are running, up till now, government has been able to support other sectors, cushioning the effects of the COVID-19 for them, but we in the garment sector of the value chain have not gotten, neither the palliatives of the lockdown period, which is past now, nor the Export Expansion Grant that is currently ongoing.

“We are supposed to have benefited from the expansion grant and the year is already coming to an end.  We don’t know where our fate is. The Nigerian Export Promotion Council should do something for us on this Export Expansion Grant, to make the coming year a New Year-New System for us,” they pleaded.