The Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, has advanced reasons why he will be using locally-made products throughout his administration.
The move, he said, was aimed at supporting businesses in the state and creating jobs for millions of unemployed youths to boost the local economy.
The governor noted that as the chief marketing officer of the state, he would be adorning fabrics and shoes made in Anambra in his quest to walk his talk.
Speaking on Tuesday on Arise TV programme, Solduo stated that he had already begun putting his words into action by using vehicles made by Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited, which is based in Nnewi, Anambra State, as official vehicles.
He said, “It is not just me, it is the way the world works. You can’t get to Europe and find any government using Japanese or Chinese products.
“You cannot go to China, the Philippines, or other places and see their leaders wearing fabric manufactured and imported from other countries.
“Promoting local content and using such products is how you create wealth, how else? And if you don’t do that, how else do you promote your people’s businesses.
“If you wanna get funds from the US, it is America first. You are going to patronise made in US and that is what it is. You won’t believe this shoe I am wearing right now is made in Ogbunike there and some people will think it is made in Italy.
“The next thing we want to do is to encourage them (the shoemakers) to proudly label their products made in Anambra, Nigeria, and not them imitating other foreign brands’ names like Gucci, Prada, and others.
“Our people have the mentality that unless it is imported, it is of no quality. No. It is when we patronise the local businesses that we begin to appreciate what we have. Can you imagine 200 million people patronising products, fabrics, shoes made here? What will happen to jobs? that would create thousands of jobs.
“People have been patronising the fabric (Akwete) I am wearing. Because it is handwoven, and with such others placed by the people, the women making the fabrics have more jobs to do and the price has also inched up. With that development, we will be helping them with technology to mass-produce it and that’s more jobs for the people.
“So, the made-in Anambra agenda is integral to how the world works, we are not doing anything fundamentally different, it is just how it should be. Not only in Anambra, but it is also for Nigeria as a whole and that is how we must go about it.
“Made in Anambra, made in Nigeria first. We will eat our food, take our drinks and wear our clothes, put on our shoes, and by doing these, we will create millions of jobs. For me, it is not a temporary agenda, it is something I believe in and I’m going to live through that.”
