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Hot SourceGov Otti Pledges to Promote Local Fabric, Akwete
Charles Ajunwa
Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has pledged to promote local fabric, Akwete, in the state.
Otti disclosed this when a delegation from Ethnocentrique Limited paid him a courtesy visit recently.
The governor commended the organisation’s ongoing efforts to boost the state’s shoe and garment industry, saying it aligns with his administration’s vision.
Otti, who emphasised the need to apply technology in the production of the local fabric, said it will improve product’s quality, and reduce production costs.
According to him, legislation would be put together to ensure that Abians patronise Akwete fabric.
“The Akwete market looks like an oligopolistic market just like you said; where daughters, mothers and grandmothers handle the business. It doesn’t go beyond that we need to find a way to expand it.
“While not deriding what they have done, we can always improve by applying technology, so that cost of production will become cheaper by the time you have large-scale production.
“We can also pass a legislation that ensures that people use it and it must be available for people to get it,” Otti stated.
He emphasised the need for further discussions to achieve the common goal of the government.
Otti, who thanked the team for choosing Aba for the programme, noted that the global cotton, textile and garment space remains a lucrative industry worth $1.8 trillion, with significant shares controlled by countries like the United States, China, Bangladesh, and Vietnam.
Earlier, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ethnocentrique Limited, Mrs. Irunna Ejibe, said that the group has been in Aba since May last year to provide support for 5,000 young people and activate the local economy in a programme tagged ‘Fashion Future Programme’.
She said that Abia State was chosen because of the place and status of Aba as the heart of fashion in West Africa, adding that, there is now a visionary government in Abia that came prepared to change the story of the state.
Ejibe presented Akwete fabric to the governor and invited him to participate in their forthcoming fashion show holding in Aba on April 30, 2025.
In his presentation, the Institutional Capacity Enhancement Consultant of Ethnocentrique Limited, Mr. Nelson Okwonna, said that the programme is in line with Governor Otti’s vision of inclusive economic transformation.
He disclosed that 25 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) fashion clusters have been created with 2,000 MSMEs engaged and supported already as they target 4,000.
He requested among other things that the governor grants an executive order for preference of public procurement of the MSME products.
Charles Ajunwa Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has pledged to promote local fabric, Akwete, in the state. Otti disclosed this when a delegation from Ethnocentrique Limited paid him a courtesy
