FG to receive MAN’s blueprint on addressing sector challenges in Q1 2022

The Manufacturers Association (MAN) said remedial measures to address the challenges facing the manufacturing sector will be formally presented to President Mohammed within the first quarter of 2022.

MAN said it has proactively articulated remedial measures for the challenges in the blueprint for accelerated development of manufacturing in Nigeria.

This is even as MAN appreciates that the federal government has addressed some of these challenges while others are receiving the attention of the relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government (MDAs).

President of MAN, Engr. Mansur Ahmed in his address recently, during an advocacy visit to the President highlighted a few of the challenges that could be addressed in the immediate term in order to improve the manufacturing operating environment.

According to him, they include an inadequate supply of forex, stressing that those manufacturers have been finding it difficult to source forex for the importation of machines and raw materials that are not available in the country.

He said, whilst we commend and support the recent Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy on non-allocation of forex to BDCs, we are constrained to observe that it has not translated into any meaningful improvement in the supply of forex to manufacturers.

“We, therefore, request for the intervention of your excellency to ensure the prioritization of allocation for the purpose of importing raw materials and vital machines and equipment that are not available locally. In addition, we request your Excellency to direct the CBN and Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment to engage the association to find ways of driving forex to the manufacturing sector.

“Manufacturers still contend with inadequate electricity supply from the national grid and high electricity tariff from distribution companies coupled with the enormous cost of providing alternative energy at over N72.7billion, thereby limiting the competitiveness of manufacturing in Nigeria.

“While commending the government for the ongoing reform in the power sector, we implore your Excellency to direct that the NERC should remove all the bottlenecks inhibiting manufacturer’s access to the Eligible Customer Scheme. As a matter of policy, a significant amount of the 2000 MW stranded electricity in the system can be made available to manufacturers through this scheme,” he said.

Speaking further, Engr. Ahmed maintained that limited access to long-term loans and the high cost of loanable funds are also jointly restraining the ability of the sector to produce at full capacity and adversely affecting the contribution of manufacturing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He said, “We applaud the efforts of Government aimed at resolving these issues through various stimulus packages, but regret to note that genuine and deserving manufacturers are not able to access the funds. We, therefore, recommend that a monitoring and evaluation platform involving the private sector be set up to oversight the allocation of these funds. This will ensure that the funds are judiciously allocated to genuine manufacturers who have access to these incentives.

Engr. Ahmed further stated that the association commends the wisdom of President Buhari’s administration instituting Executive Orders 003 and 005 on the patronage of made in Nigeria goods and the development of local content.

He said MAN humbly requests that MDAs are mandated to strictly prioritize the patronage of made in Nigeria items in all their purchases and contracts.

“In the same vein, we urge Mr. President, as the chairman of the Presidential Motoring Committee for Implementation of Executive Order 005 to direct that the Ministry of Science Technology and Innovation to inaugurate the Secretariat that will implement the strategies for the Executive Order. As a test case of this initiative, we humbly request that Mr. President direct the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to certified local manufacturers of LPG Gas Cylinders be specifically designated as priority providers of the 10 million Cooking Gas Cylinders to be procured by the federal government for 12 states in the federation,” he said.