At least, 3,000 tailors and 5,000 market women have benefitted from the State of Osun uniform unification policy since it was introduced in 2012.
This was revealed by the manager of Omoluabi Garments Factory, Osogbo, Mr. Ayobami Fatai. He stated this whilst speaking with journalists over the weekend that Omoluabi Garment Factory is saddled with the local production of Osun School Uniforms while the State of Osun works with the factory to ensure the prices are controlled and affordable.
It was gathered that the factory also act as a hub to train tailors in the state for free. The manager says thousands of residents in the state have passed through the system, learning how to sow, while also earning at the same time.
He further revealed that the factory also partners with the local association of textiles sellers (Egbe Alaso) to supply the uniforms to the market. So far, the factory has partnered with 5,000 of them. With a down payment of 10% of total value of Uniforms to be collected, the textile sellers get the uniforms in bulk and payment is spread throughout the course of selling.
As at February 2017, at least, the sum of N120mn has been made as profits by the textile sellers through the sale of subsidized school uniforms alone.
The programme which is in its 5th year, has so far being subsidized to the tune of N800m, in addition to the initial N900m seed investment by the government into the business to guarantee the production and sale of 750,000 pieces of uniforms which the government distributed to students across the state for free at the inception of the programme.
Omoluabi Garment Factory, reportedly one of the biggest garment factory in West Africa, is a thriving Private Public Business Partnership between the government of the state of Osun and Sam & Sara Garments Limited. The company now produces Uniforms for the Nigerian Military, Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB), Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), among several others.
Speaking on the unification policy, former Commissioner for Commerce, Co-Op & Empowerment in the state, Mr. Jayeoba Alagbada, said the unification of school uniforms is part of an effort by the State of Osun to create a unique identity for students, promote culture and stimulate the local economy. He stated that the innovation ensures uniformity and engenders a unified sense of belonging among all government owned public primary and secondary school pupils in the state.
