Bimbola Oyesola

As the Coronavirus pandemic continued to ravage the economy, workers in the textile sector has urged the Federal Government to provide palliatives for its members in the informal sector.

The President of the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers (NUTGTWN), John Adaji, speaking immediately after the union’s election in Abuja yesterday expressed concern about the debilitating impact of the COVID 19 on the health and wellbeing of workers and the overall impact on the economy.

“We want to appeal to the Federal Government to consider palliative measures for our members in the informal sector who are largely at the receiving end of the current lockdown,” he said.

Adaji also urged all stakeholders in the industry, government, employers and labour to use the instrumentality of social dialogue to safeguard jobs and workers’ pay in ensuring that workers do not suffer.

He said government should continue to review the situation and if need be call a national lockdown immediately to avert new infections and further loss of lives in the country.

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In the same vein, the immediate past General Secretary of the union, Issa Aremu, noted that the pandemic COVID-19 further calls for self reliance and diversification of the economy.

He said: “Nigeria’s growth drivers are extractive, oil and gas compared to South Africa where manufacturing contributes as much as 25per cent to the GDP.

“Nigeria, in terms of GDP, undoubtedly is the leader. But in real qualitative terms, South Africa’s economy is stronger. Its GDP is driven by value adding manufacturing activities compared to Nigeria’s economy. “According to United Nations industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), manufacturing industry in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) lags behind other developing regions in almost all measures of economic development, namely income per head, industrialisation and agricultural productivity.”

He commended the Governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele, for the new measures that include six-point palliatives to ameliorate the impact of the disease on the economy that include cuts  in interest rate from nine to five per cent per annum for one year effective March 1, 2020; Grants extension of moratorium on all CBN intervention facilities effective March 1, 2020; N50billion targeted credit facility through NIRSAL Microfinance Bank for households and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) hard hit by Covid-19.

Others include approved leave for DMBs to consider temporary and time-limited restructuring of tenor and loan terms for businesses and households most affected by the outbreak of Covid-19, Credit support for healthcare industry and strengthening of CBN LDR policy for DMB.