Just back from Paris, France, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has confirmed to everyday.ng that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved that Nigerians be clad in locally made attires on two of the five working days of the week.
He affirmed that it was not a compulsory policy that was binding on all, but was approved to promote culture and buoy the local textile industry.
Meantime, according to other sources, a letter from the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, dated 4th April, 2017, has been delivered to the Executive Secretary of National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma.
Signed by Umar Lamba for the Permanent Secretary, Ayotunde Adesugba, the letter disclosed that FEC at its meeting of Wednesday, 1st February, 2017, approved the adoption of Mondays and Wednesdays of every week as Made-in-Nigeria Dress Days as part of measures to uplift the nation’s culture and promote Made-in-Nigeria textile products”.
A presentation on the Made-in-Nigeria Campaign is be made to the National Economic Council to secure the buy-in of State Governments, the letter further revealed.
NICO has been directed to do a proposal for an all-embracing campaign to endear Nigerians to the idea of Made-in-Nigeria Dress Days.
The Management of NICO had, in 2010, according to reports, submitted a memo at the National Council on Culture and Tourism (NCCT), seeking government’s approval to declare Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, as what the Institute called, “Dress Nigeria Days” to boost the Nigerian identity and revive the moribund textile industry.
Executive Secretary of NICO, Dr. Barclays Foubiri Ayakoroma, has said that the government approval is one major breakthrough for the Institute since he took over.
