Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo- says the new Industrial Leather Hub at Matori industrial estate, will supply regional retailers and global brands and provide specialised cutting, stitching and finishing technology.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu gave the assurance when he commissioned the facility at the weekend.

“By bringing structure, modern infrastructure, and a supportive policy framework into an industry long dominated by informality, the State has created a platform that not only empowers Artisans and NIMSMEs but also positions Lagos as a continental centre of excellence for leather production,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu said the facility would generate about 10,000 direct and indirect jobs within three years, train 150,000 artisans nationwide and produce over $200 million in yearly exports when fully operational.

Over 70 per cent of the jobs, he noted, will be reserved for women and youths.

“The hides and skins that once left our shores unprocessed will be transformed here into world-class footwear, garments and accessories stamped ‘made in Lagos and made in Nigeria’ for the global market.”

The multi-billion-naira complex in Matori, Mushin, now renamed Senator Oluremi Tinubu Industrial Leather Hub, is designed to reposition Nigeria’s leather industry from a fragmented, informal sector into a formalised, export-ready value chain.

The state-of-the-art facility, built under the supervision of the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment in partnership with Kharis Engineering Services Limited, comprises a production area with industrial-grade machinery for mass manufacturing of shoes, bags and belts, and a commercial wing housing shops, showrooms, training centres, and banking services.

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) says the Federal Government should ensure that the fencing materials for the Lagos Airport should not be procure from outside Nigeria.

The association made the appeal to the government on Monday, through its Director-General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir.Ajayi-Kadir noted that the Lagos Airport fencing project presents a clear chance for the government to demonstrate that the Nigeria First Policy is not just an aspiration, but an intentional policy of government that will be matched with unfettered implementation.

MAN, he said , therefore calls on the Federal Government to urgently intervene by ensuring that the fencing materials for the Lagos Airport are sourced from competent Nigerian manufacturers.

“This is not a call to influence the award of the contract, but a patriotic appeal to align procurement decisions with national interest for the collective benefit of our economy and the well-being of the people,” he said.

The manufacturers emphasized that it has become a matter of national interest for the project’s contractor to ensure strict adherence to the Executive Orders 003, 005 and the imperatives of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Nigeria First Policy.

” In particular, we strongly maintain that, in considering the procurement of Clear Vu fencing, indigenous manufacturers should be given priority consideration and it should NOT be purchased from outside Nigeria.

“While we acknowledge the competence of the foreign manufacturer, MAN emphasizes that Nigerian companies have the proven capacity and technical expertise to produce fencing materials of equal — if not superior — quality that meet international standards.

“The Director- General maintained that the appeal became necessary as Nigerian manufacturers, regrettably, lost out in similar situations in the past.

In this particular instance, despite MAN’s advocacy, fencing materials for an airport project were imported from South Africa.

That decision discouraged local industries and contradicted the government’s stated local content policies.

We strongly believe that this administration has the opportunity to correct past errors. “

South African mobile operator MTN Group said Monday it was under US investigation over its activities in Iran and Afghanistan, at a time of icy ties between Washington and Pretoria.

Africa’s biggest telecoms company is already facing court challenges in South Africa by Turkey’s Turkcell, which accuses it of winning the Iranian market through corruption.

In 2006, MTN was chosen over Turkcell to become the 49 percent minority shareholder in Iranian government-controlled mobile phone carrier Irancell.

MTN had been made aware of a US Department of Justice (DoJ) grand jury investigation relating to its former subsidiary in Afghanistan and Irancell, the company said in a statement.

“MTN is cooperating with the DoJ and voluntarily responding to requests for information,” said the statement accompanying the group’s financial results.

Grand juries typically decide whether or not to formally lay charges in a case and take it to trial.

The South African multinational is also facing a court case in the United States from US veterans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as relatives of soldiers killed in action, the statement said.

“The plaintiffs’ complaints allege that MTN supported anti-American militias in Iraq and Afghanistan .