Ogun: FG pledges further support for Adire business

By Bankole Taiwo, Abeokuta

Efforts of the Ogun State government to develop the Adire local fabric and make it a global brand has received a boost as the Federal Government through the Office of the Vice President on Shared Facility, announced its support for the local fabric.

A statement issued by Kunle Somorin, the Chief Press Secretary to the State Governor, Dapo Abiodun in Abeokuta said this was made known when the Governor played host to the Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole.

The Governor was quoted to have explained that the shared facility would be provided towards upscaling the Adire market in the state.

Abiodun who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Tokunbo Talabi, also noted that the shared facility which would be geared towards building modern facilities for Adire in the state, would be specially built for the purpose of Adire in the state.

He further noted that the facility was coming at a time when the Adire industry was booming in the state, disclosing that  construction work on the facility would start in earnest.

“We are getting some level of support from the Office of the Vice President on Shared Facility; the facility is geared towards upscaling the Adire market.

“Basically, what the shared facility is, is to build a modern infrastructure and because of the prominence and strategic importance of Adire to the state, that has been the area that the facility will be, so the market is going to be redesigned, they are going to build new stalls, they are going to be specialised.

“It is not a general market building, it is specialised for Adire. So all the facilities are geared towards upscaling and industrializing the production of Adire and we have the privilege of hosting it here,” he stated.

Abiodun, however, disclosed that the State Government was getting the hotel chain in the state together by organising a joint tour and pickup for visitors coming into the state through the rail, adding that the plan would further increase the influx of people into the state to relax, do business or play golf.

He called on the Special Adviser to periodically create a channel where data would be made available for the use of his administration, urging her to also do more of advisory work for his administration.

Earlier in her remarks, the Special Adviser to the President on the Ease of Doing Business, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, while commending the Ogun State Government for focusing on infrastructural development across the state, advocated the need to patronise local fabrics that are hand made and authentic.

Oduwole who also disclosed that the Federal Government would encourage makers of indigenous fabrics to scale up their production process, added that the Federal Government would continue to pay more attention to matters that would bring quality inputs into the country that can be developed and scaled industrially in the country.

The Special Adviser, while also noting that the federal government was looking  towards exporting its fabrics and fashion as well as creating job in the industry, reiterated the commitment of the federal government to lift one hundred million people out of poverty.

Oduwole who  disclosed that the National Development Plan was focused on moving thirty five million Nigerians out of poverty by year 2025, urged the public to download and visit www. reportgov.ng for complaints.

In his remarks, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwasina Ogungbade disclosed that the state government is continuously working towards law reviews to aid the ease of doing business in the state.

He added that, “The present administration is committed to not only ensuring that the state remains the industrial capital of the nation, but also becomes the economic capital of the country.”

His counterpart in the Culture and Tourism Ministry, Dr. Oluwatoyin Taiwo while commending the Shared Facility gesture for Adire in the state, called on the Federal Government, to come  to the aid of the state by putting an end to the adulteration of adire fabric in the country.-