By Dickson Pat 

Nigeria is targeting 1.4 million jobs as it collaborates with the International Cotton Advisory Committee ,ICAC, to revive the country’s moribund cotton/textile industry.

Disclosing this in a statement, the Vice- President’s Media Aide, Mr Stanley Nkwocha, said the government met with the ICAC at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the nation’s capital, led by its Executive Director, Mr Eric Trachtenberg.

Chairing the meeting was the Vice – President  Kashim Shettima, where discussions centred on developing key components of the cotton value chain comprising farming, weaving, ginning and linking of cotton, all in line with the industrialization drive of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Mr Nkwocha stated that the target was to “create over 1.4 million jobs annually in the cotton/textile sector”.

The statement read, “Senator Shettima urged stakeholders to come up with a roadmap for the revitalization of the cotton/textile sector in Nigeria, noting that “it is time to work more and talk less”.

The Vice-President assured that “the Tinubu administration will make conscious efforts to ensure the country harnesses opportunities in the cotton value chain, including ensuring that Nigeria regains its ICAC membership”.

Mr Shettima thanked the delegation for the visit, just as he acknowledged ICAC’s commitment to the development of the sector in Africa.

“Your diverse backgrounds in ICAC gives a nuanced understanding of the complexities and opportunities in the cotton value chain”, he noted.

In his remarks, Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said his state was well positioned to harness opportunities in the cotton value chain, given that it hosts the factories, and the market and is a critical component of the business ecosystem for the cotton sub-sector.

The governor expressed excitement at the possibility and opportunity for the resuscitation of the cotton and textile sector with a particular focus on job creation and economic transformation.

Mr Sanwo-Olu pledged the state’s readiness to offtake cotton produced in other parts of the country for companies based within the area.

On his part, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State said the meeting with the delegation from the ICAC is the beginning of Nigeria’s quest to revamp the textile industry as part of the broad objective for industrializing the economy.

He said Imo State and the Southeastern region will be key to the renewed effort to revamp the cotton/textile sector with the bid to create jobs for the people and for the overall industrialization drive of the country.

“The opportunity created by the meeting is a new beginning in our quest for industrial recovery and creation of jobs for our teeming youths as well as an opportunity for a new partnership”, Mr Uzodimma said.

The Senate has raised concern over 1.5 billion dollars approved in 2021 for the turn-around maintenance of the Port Harcourt Refinery with little or no result.

Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele, Chairman, Senate Ad Hoc Committee to Investigate the Alleged Economic Sabotage in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry, raised the concern during an interactive session with stakeholders yesterday, in Abuja.

Bamidele, who is also the Senate Leader, said it was unfair and wrong to treat public companies shabbily while private businesses were flourishing and thriving.

He recalled that the Federal Executive Council ,FEC, had approved the plan by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to rehabilitate and turn around the Port Harcourt Refinery with 1.5 billion Dollars.

Bamidele expressed concerns about the dysfunctional state of government-owned refineries in spite of billions of dollars spent on turn-around maintenance.

“The federation is undergoing a truly challenging period. The distribution and supply of refined petroleum products has been irregular and problematic in the recent history of our fatherland.

“The long queues at filling stations are obviously a testament to this challenge.

“A situation, whereby we now depend almost entirely on the importation of these products even when we daily supply the global oil market about two per cent of its crude oil requirements is worrisome”, he said.

He said also of serious concern was the importation of hazardous petroleum products and dumping of substandard diesel into the country.

Under different administrations since 1999, Bamidele observed that the federal government “has invested billions of dollars to maintain and turn around the state-owned refineries in Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri. But the refineries are not functioning.

“In 2021, specifically, the Federal Executive Council approved 1.5 billion dollars for the turn-around maintenance of the Port Harcourt Refinery. Yet, this investment has not yielded significant returns.

“For us in the Senate, we believe, it is unfair and unpatriotic to treat government businesses or public corporations as an orphan while private businesses are flourishing and thriving”.

He said that the National Assembly was ready to carry out the investigative hearing with all sense of honour and responsibility.

Mr Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited ,NNPCL, refuted claims of sabotaging domestic refinery.

“All of us here see what is happening in the media. Targeted personal attack on my person, on the institution. And we all know how this works.

“They are deliberate, they are calculated. So, that creates the impression that NNPCL and our leadership are doing anything to create economic sabotage in our country.

“It is far from it. This company has grown. We are proud to say this. From a lost company for 43 years to a profit-making company today”, said Kyari.

Also, Mr Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for Petroleum Resources, said that the oil sector was bedeviled by a lot misinformation.

“This Senate should do Nigerians a favour by televising the proceedings of this committee live.

“This will do a whole lot of justice not only to the Senate but we in the Executive and key leaders in the sector.

“Because of the fundamental nature of this investigation that has to do with alleged economic sabotage with importation of substandard products into the country, we urge the Senate to ensure we do a live broadcast”, he said.

He said government was committed to ensuring that local industries and all stakeholders in the oil sector were protected.

“We are committed to supporting Dangote Refinery; we are also supporting modular refineries and we have been resolving whatever issues they had brought to our attention”, the Minister said.

Also speaking at the investigative hearing, Mr Aliyu Suleiman, Chief Strategy Officer, Dangote Industry Ltd., said the refinery started full production in March.

“Since then, we have processed about 50 million barrels of crude. We have produced about five million tons of petroleum products and these petroleum products have been sold in various parts of the country”, he said.

Mr Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, in his own remarks, said the increase in crude oil production would stabilise the country’s foreign exchange market.

Federal Government has called on the diplomatic community in the country to shun interference in the ongoing nationwide protests.

It also called for collaborative support from the community in tackling economic challenges and ensuring better life for Nigerians at home and abroad.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja, at the briefing of Members of the Diplomatic Corps on the programme and policies of the government.

Tuggar who spoke on the aftermath of the protests said Nigeria is a country under the rule of law and assured that the government would do all it can to protect its citizenry.

According to him, no one can tolerate the thuggish behaviour of fringe elements and those who stand behind them, restating that government will not tolerate foreign interference in the protests.

“While government continues to work hard through various reforms to address challenges facing Nigeria and Nigerians, it is pertinent that no nation tolerates foreign interference in its domestic affairs and its citizens.

“Government will take appropriate action against any foreign entity residing in Nigeria found to have directly or indirectly supported protesters by whatever means or seeks to interfere in the internal affairs.

“Nigeria cherishes and will continue to value the cordial relationships that happily subsist between her, your countries and organisations and will not do anything to undermine or take for granted such relationships.

“Indeed, more than any time before now, we solicit your understanding and collaboration in the ongoing efforts of the government in addressing the economic challenges confronting the country.

“To achieve a better life for every Nigerian at home and abroad”, Tuggar said.

He reassured the diplomats that President Bola Tinubu understands the pains and frustrations driving the protests and had commiserated with the

families, and relations of those who died and promising to address concerns of Nigerians.

The Minister restated Tinubu’s appeal particularly to youths, advising them not to let violence and destruction tear the country apart as willingness to proffer solutions to issues that surround the protests.

He recounted that Tinubu had led a campaign against military dictatorship in Nigeria in the 1990s and believes in Nigeria’s democracy that freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and the right to dissent are fundamental.

Tuggar said, “While admitting there have been many dashed hopes in the past, Tinubu affirmed Nigeria is in a new era of Renewed Hope as the government is working hard.

“The results will soon be visible and concrete for everyone to see, feel, and enjoy. Consequently, the President has directed that the security operatives continue to maintain peace, law, and order in the country as the safety and security of all Nigerians is paramount.

Participants of Services’ War Colleges yesterday, concluded the Strategic National Exercise/Joint Operations Planning Exercise, nicknamed “Ex SKY LOCK”.

The exercise is designed to promote joint operations and enhance national security response,

The Commandant of the Naval War College, Rear Adm. Abdullahi Ahmed, said the exercise is aimed to equip participants with  skills to effectively respond to contemporary security challenges facing Nigeria.

Ahmed said that the exercise served as a strategic exercise that culminated in  the Professional Military Education ,PME, packages at the National Defence College ,NDC, and the three services war colleges.

He said the exercise covered various national security aspects, including strategic assessments, inter-agency coordination, logistics planning, and operations against terrorism and insurgency.

Ahmed said that while the participants were educated on various aspects of operations in the classroom, the exercise was the training aspect to cap all the education activities.

According to him, the significance of the exercise is to pull through all what they have learnt in the classroom.

This, he said,  would help them to see the workability and to identify where gaps existed  so as to be able to fix it in the event of any real scenario.

“Ex Sky lock is all about training and enhancing participants’ ability in the act of operational warfare in terms of our  current challenges, such as internal security issues, militancy and the like.

“At the end of the course, my expectation is for them to go to the field well prepared as operational commanders, to be able to pull through any task given to them, to carry out and achieve all the objectives as expected”, he said.

The commandant commended the participants for their dedication and effort throughout the exercise.

He emphasised the importance of applying the knowledge and skills gained during “Ex Sky Lock” to their respective operational engagements to strengthen national security.