The Oodua Youth Parliament has faulted the decision of the Nigerian Institute of Leather and Science Technology (NILEST) to site the N350 million tannery in Daura, Katsina state.
Speaker of the parliament, Hon. Abdulmajeed Oyeniye, while addressing a press conference in Abuja, Tuesday, argued that it is unfair that an Institute located in the North-west geopolitical zone would choose to site such project within the same region.
“Are other states like Lagos, Oyo or Ekiti not part of the country anymore or was the institute established only for the North-west region? This is unacceptable to the generality of Nigerians and must be reversed in the spirit of federal character and fairness,” the group stated.
Continuing, it said, “NILEST was conceived with the aim of harnessing the vast potentials in the flourishing livestock industry in country especially in northern Nigeria.
“With over 100 million cows, goats and ship with thousands slaughtered daily, Nigeria was projected to be a net exporter of hides and an industrial hub in the leather and skin industrial sector. More than 20 years down the line nothing has changed and it got worse under the present administration.
“The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has shown that Nigeria exports less than 100 tons of hides and skin. In fact it’s questionable if this quantity is exported to neighboring African countries and whether it’s just raw skin or actually hides.
“There has not been any visible footprint of NILEST anywhere in Nigeria even though there are abattoirs spread across the country from Maiduguri to Lagos and Port Harcourt. All attempts made at skinning and preservation are done at the individual level, with no input from a supposedly professional body.
“Nigerians still prefer Italian shoes and bags and belts. The raw materials for these are made from the same cows we have here in abundance. If NILEST was incapable of pioneering research in skin and hides preservation, it should have at least partnered the local tanner’s in Katisna, Zaria, Kano, Borno and elsewhere, but as we speak there is none such partnership and no capacity building of any kind. This is totally unacceptable and must be stopped.”
The parliament expressed dissatisfaction with the management of the institute, stating that it has failed to live up to the expectations of providing job opportunities to Nigerians and helping to boost the economy.
The group, therefore, called for the immediate overhaul of the management aimed at repositioning the agency to give teeth to efficiency, productivity and service delivery.