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Four thousand young Nigerians graduated from a fashion training programme in Aba on Wednesday, and the governor of Abia State used the occasion to announce something that Aba’s artisans have been waiting decades to hear from any government: a formal campaign to put Made-in-Aba products in front of Nigerian consumers and position them against imports.
Governor Alex Otti made the announcement at the Enyimba International Stadium during the graduation ceremony for Cohorts 3 and 4 of the Fashion Future Programme, a joint initiative between Ethnocentrique Limited, the Mastercard Foundation and the Abia State Government. The 4,000 graduates completed training in fashion and lifestyle production under a programme themed “Ahia 360” — a deliberate signal that the ambition extends beyond the training room into the full commercial chain from workshop to market to export.
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Otti said the promotional campaign would launch in the coming weeks, focused on the quality and economic value of what Aba produces, and designed to make the case that local goods can compete with the imported alternatives that have been steadily displacing them. “This campaign will highlight the creative output of our local entrepreneurs and the extensive economic benefits of their offerings over foreign competition,” he said.
He directed that the ENASCO production facility be brought to full operational capacity and announced government investment in production hubs across the state, with the fashion sector identified as a primary beneficiary given its centrality to Aba’s economic identity. The city’s reputation as Nigeria’s manufacturing heartland — a place where leather, textiles and garments have been produced at scale for generations — has survived decades of infrastructure neglect and policy indifference. Otti’s framing positions the state government as finally trying to match the ambition the city’s artisans have been demonstrating without institutional support.
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The governor also confirmed that talks are underway to expand the Fashion Future Programme from its current 4,000-participant scale to approximately 8,000 beneficiaries in future phases — a doubling that would extend the programme’s reach into unemployment reduction, poverty alleviation and internally generated revenue growth simultaneously.
Ethnocentrique CEO Irunna Ejibe said the programme was designed to identify participants capable of producing export-ready goods, a framing that elevates the ambition from local empowerment to international market participation. She also highlighted the programme’s deliberate inclusiveness — persons living with disabilities, including the deaf and non-verbal, were among the graduates and had been supported toward economic independence alongside their peers.
Mastercard Foundation Country Director Rosy Fynn described the partnership as impactful and commended the state government’s commitment to youth economic development.
The graduation ceremony featured exhibitions of garments and accessories produced by the graduates — a live demonstration of what 4,000 trained hands can make when given the tools and the direction to make it.
