Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River state in Nigeria has said the Calabar garment factory will generate over 1000 jobs when completed in August, according to the Nigerian media. Ayade said this on June 28 in Calabar while addressing representatives of the host communities at the project site. “Upon completion, the Calabar garment factory is expected to generate about 1000 jobs, the bulk of which would be women, particularly widows,” he said. He said that the inauguration of the factory was one of the projects being designed by him to celebrate his first 100 days in office. The governor said that equipment for the factory had been procured and promised that the project would be a major employer of labour. “Apart from women, the factory will also provide employment for the teeming unemployed youths roaming the streets,” Ayade stated. He said that his administration decided to build the factory due to the experience they had during the recent political campaigns. “During the just concluded political campaigns, we discovered that the T-shirts and caps worn by party members all across the country were imported from China. “That is why we decided to build this factory to ensure that these items can be manufactured here in Nigeria. “The factory will provide fabrics for the production of school uniforms, army uniforms, police and other para-military uniforms. “Cross River, being a border state and with the support of the federal government, will supply these items to the neighbouring states and countries,” he said. The governor said that the factory was also expected to enhance the revenue profile of the state. Ayade, however, said that the factory would be operated under a Public Private Partnership structure that would allow the state to have small per cent in the ownership of the factory.
