The 2025 Aba Leather & Fashion Business-to-Business (B2B) Summit and Fair officially opened on Tuesday, September 22, at Ogbonnaya Onu P...
The 2025 Aba Leather & Fashion Business-to-Business (B2B) Summit and Fair officially opened on Tuesday, September 22, at Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba, Abia State, with the Executive Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, OFR, serving as Chief Host.
The summit, which spanned four days from September 22 to 25, was organised by the Abia State Government in collaboration with the National Task Force on the Implementation of Leather Policy in Nigeria (NATFILP) and the Nigerian Institute of Leather and Science Technology (NILEST).
This was disclosed in a statement signed by Nuhu Basheer Masa, Personal Assistant on Media and Communication to the Director-General of NILEST, and made available to the press on Monday.
According to the statement, the event attracted key stakeholders in the leather industry across Nigeria and focused on harnessing the sector's potential for economic diversification, job creation, and national development. Nigeria’s leather sector, second only to oil in terms of foreign exchange earnings, was at the heart of the summit’s deliberations.
Before the summit officially commenced, the Director-General of NILEST, Dr. Auwal Mustapha Imam, held a strategic meeting with Hon. David Kalu, Abia State Commissioner for Science, Technology, and Innovation. Also in attendance were Engr. Justina Eboh, Permanent Secretary of the ministry, and Dr. Christopher Kalu, Rector of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba, among others.
Following the successful conclusion of the summit, Dr Imam proceeded on a supervisory visit to the South-East Regional Centre of NILEST located in Owerri, Imo State, and inspected the ongoing construction of an industrial tannery and leather goods facility in Okwudor.
The visit was conducted in the company of local government representatives, community leaders, and the South-East regional manager of NILEST.
In further engagements, Dr Imam joined the Honourable Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha, in Kano, for a high-level meeting with the leadership of the Kano Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KACCIMA). The meeting explored opportunities for collaboration in trade, commercialisation, and industrialisation of animal-based products.
The Director-General also held a separate strategic session with the Managing Director of the Northwest Development Commission (NWDC), Professor Mukhtar Ma’aji, to discuss regional economic development initiatives, especially as they pertain to the livestock and leather value chains.
“The 2025 B2B Summit was a huge success, with impactful deliberations and resourceful dialogue aimed at improving the leather sector. We look forward to future engagements that will continue to uplift the Nigerian leather industry,” the statement added.
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