Akinwumi Adesina, and Education, Prof. Ruquyyatu Rufa’i, on Monday shunned the Senate’s public hearing on the Local Industry Patronage Bill.
The bill seeks to compel government ministries, departments and agencies to give priority to local manufacturers and indigenous companies in the procurement of goods, works and services.
No reason was given for the ministers’ absence even when they were duly served letters of invitation.
In his opening remarks, the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, who represented the President of the Senate, David Mark, said the passage of the bill was of great importance to the Nigerian economy.
He said, “The Federal Government is determined to revitalise the economy by resuscitating local industries and the agricultural sector; the success of these will be determined by local patronage of goods and services produced.
“When this process is completed, importations will be further regulated to discourage those things we produce in the country, particularly those items that we have comparative and competitive advantage.
“Local industries, in turn, create employment, generate wealth, reduce poverty and promote businesses. This is in addition to attracting other ECOWAS countries to key into Nigerian goods and services.”
In an address of welcome, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Investment, Senator Nenadi Usman, said the bill was aimed at repositioning the manufacturing sector to encourage patronage of locally-produced goods.
She said, “The bill specifically provides for patronage of local manufacturers with the intent to encourage government to develop the political will and lead the way for proper ideological focus to transform the psyche of Nigerians to patronise locally-made products.
“For instance, countries like China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia have enjoyed economic growth because of the stability and steady growth of their local industries with local patronages.”
The chairman also said the nation must encourage industries not just to produce but to improve the quality of their products and discourage the importation of substandard goods.
A representative of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Issa Aremu, said it was disheartening to see companies operating in Nigeria importing products that could be sourced locally.
“We have troops in Mali, they use tarpaulin? Who is supplying the ones they are using? We have one factory that produces tarpaulin in Zaria, it is still looking for patronage,” he said.
Aremu also lamented that big corporations and retail shops across the country were importing basic items, including fruits, which were grown locally.
He suggested that the committee should replace the word “indigenous” with “private companies” operating in Nigeria in the final document.
