TheCable

Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun, has asked the federal government to adopt adire (tie and dye) fabric as the official attire for national events.

He spoke on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the Adire market week in Ogun state.

While expressing concern over what he described as the adulteration of the fabric, he said there is a need to address the effects of such activities on local production.

He said upon assuming office in 2019, findings revealed that “adire production was suffering a setback — setback described as those that would come in to steal the designs, copy it and bring it back to us”.

“The foreign thieves — I will not be particular about the nationalities — but what I would say is that we are deeply committed to working with the national assembly and customs to stop this stealing,” he added.

According to him, “the high volume of adulterated adire fabrics by foreigners has caused monumental loss to local producers”.

“I urge the national assembly and other government functionaries to adopt adire as official attire for national events in the country, just as we’re doing in Ogun state,” he said.

He commended the stakeholders behind the adire market week, including Bamidele, his wife, adding that local producers have contributed significantly to “the continuous and successful building of our future together”.

In November 2020, the state had adopted the use of adire fabric as part of uniforms for schools.