Ekiti first Lady, Fayemi Urges FG to Ban Imported ‘Aso-Oke’ Fabric

The wife of Ekiti State governor, Bisi Fayemi, has urged the Federal Government to ban imported ‘Aso-Oke’ fabric and revive the nation’s textile industry to boost sustainable economic growth. ‘Aso Oke’ is a hand-woven cloth created by the Yoruba people, which means “top cloth” in the English language, denoting cloth of high status.

However, Fayemi made the call to ban the importation of Aso Oke fabric during the 2019 Africa Fashion Week Nigeria (AFWN) on Saturday in Lagos. “I will be a hypocrite to say that we should ban all fabrics because I do wear imported fabrics every now and then. “But when it comes to Aso-oke that I know that our women in our local communities toil at to do; and do not have the capacity to produce to scale, instead of investing in that capacity, we are acquiring a situation that others are coming to rip off our intellectual property. “So, I join others to call for a ban on imported Aso-oke from China,” Fayemi said.

According to her, Africa fashion is all about identity, self-love, dignity, attitude, and ownership to preserve its culture, heritage and connection to the international community.