FEC okays leather policy for Nigeria

FEDERAL Executive Council (FEC) has approved a leather policy for the country which seeks to enhance its contribution to the national economy.

Briefing State House correspondents after the council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja on Wednesday, the Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, who disclosed this, said the provision of an enabling framework for the promotion of leather technology will enhance the deployment of the needed indigenous technology in Nigeria.

He said with the new policy, leather from Nigeria can now be processed into finished goods before export, noting that the implementation of the policy will also help in the production of finished goods like shoes, bags.

The minister explained that the government intends to create additional jobs through increased activities in the leather industry as small scale business will spring up.

He added that due to Nigeria’s present low cost of labour, it was good to take advantage of it.

Onu also said that the leather science and research industry in Kaduna will take care of the hazards that come with the processing.

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He added: “This will allow us to make more gains instead of exporting raw leather or semi-finished products. We want to prepare our nation so that we can process our leather and use the leather in the production of finished leather products.”

“Almost every sector of our economic life is affected, including footwear, apparels and automobile industry.

“There is hardly any machine that you will open without finding the leather component. This is the only we can create more jobs and a lot of wealth. We would be in a position to fight poverty.”

Nigeria has currently ranked eight positions no the global leather export index.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has disclosed that FEC considered the recent protest by members of the Shi’ite group who are demanding the release of the leader Ibrahim El-Zakzaki from custody.

He said FEC has directed the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mohammed Bello to work with his security team on the protests.