Ogun Lobbies National Assembly to Declare Chinese Adire Contraband
Ogun State House of Assembly has passed a resolution requesting that the State Government put machinery in place to check the subtle take-over of Adire Kampala local industry by foreigners.
The resolution was passed after the motion moved by the Majority Leader, Mr Yusuf Sheriff and seconded by the Minority Leader, Mr Lukman Adeleye with the support of other lawmakers at a plenary presided over by Speaker, Mr. Olakunle Oluomo.
Opening debate on the motion, the sponsor, Mr Babatunde Tella, said the influx of foreign adire into the local market was eroding the rich cultural heritage of the people and threatening their source of livelihood.
He called on the Ministries of Trade and Investment, Culture and Tourism as well as Women Affairs to investigate the matter, while pleading with the State Government to partner the Federal Government in assisting the local adire fabric makers to export their products to boost the nation’s growing economy.
Other lawmakers while supporting the motion commended Governor Dapo Abiodun and notable traditional rulers in the state for always adorning the indigenous adire in support of local patronage, pointing that if not checked the influx of imported Adire would continue to fuel unemployment, imitation of the people’s creativity and reduction in the state’s revenue.
The lawmakers solicited the support of the National Assembly in the efforts to consider the classification of imported Adire as contraband goods.
Responding, the Speaker, Mr Oluomo, who commended the sponsor of the resolution, equally acknowledged Governor Dapo Abiodun’s untiring efforts at promoting the rich cultural heritage of the State, assuring that the Assembly would work towards enacting a bill to further strengthen and protect the local economy for the benefit of the people.
