The association of professional printers in Abuja has called on the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, declare a state of emergency on the print industry.
According the association, the industry is “fast-dying as a result of unfavourable government policies.”
It made the call in commemoration of the International Print Day, a day set aside by the global body to celebrate the professionals in both print and print marketing.
The association’s president, Dr. Shuaibu Omeiza Musari, who made the call, decried the situation the professionals faced in the importation of materials, stressing that “apart from human material we source locally, other materials required in the industry are imported.”
Musari said the industry “is not left out of the negative impact of the Covid-19, as the jobs of our employees are being threatened if urgent attention is not given to the industry.”
He appealed to the government to make grants available for them through the Central Bank (CBN), and to the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) also to make land available for the print village as it existed in other climes.
The association thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for putting together the board that “will enforce local content in various sectors of economy.”
