MAN presents 10-year blueprint to accelerate devt

——–wants FG to address increasing tax rate

COMFORT EKELEME

President, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Engr Mansur Ahmed said the 10-year blueprint presented by the association was backed with recommendations and a roadmap targeted at growing the sector.

This is even as he urged the federal government to address incidences such as increasing tax heads, and inability to access credit and foreign exchange amongst other constraints limited the manufacturing sector.

Presenting the 10-year blueprint, Engr Ahmed said if diligently implemented, the suggestions would not only restore the fortune of the manufacturing sector but also redirect the Nigerian economy in the path of steady growth and sustainable development.

The said policy document for the first time, outlines what should be the manufacturing philosophy of Nigeria and clearly defines its objectives.

The presentation was made Tuesday in Lagos; during the second Adeola Odutola’s lecture to commemorate the association’s 50th Annual General Meeting (AGM) presented a 10-year blueprint to accelerate the development of the sector.

Theme: “Agenda Setting for Industrialising Nigeria in the next decade,” Ahmed said the document made key projections on manufacturing growth, export of manufactured products, contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and employment in the next 10 years.

According to him, the crafting of the blueprint identified the centrality of manufacturing to industrialisation and economic prosperity of Nigeria.

“It reviews the current status of the sector and highlights the peculiar burdens that manufacturers have carried over the years,” he said.

Speaking further, he noted that the performance of the manufacturing sector had been constrained by familiar challenges and that the increasing incidence of new tax heads payable by manufacturing concern was a major threat to the sector’s survival.

“We want the government to upscale efforts at improving power generation capacity, to take advantage of the abundant gas resources in the country by promoting more gas-fired electricity plants.

“We urge the government to allow manufacturers to access gas at the prevailing export price and classify manufacturing concerns as a strategic users of gas to reduce the current high cost of energy and improve the competitiveness of the sector,” he said.

Also speaking, Minister for Industry, Trade, and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo said the federal government is committed to actualising its industrialisation agenda.

The Minister who was represented by the Director of Industrial Development, Mr. Adewale Bakare, said that government would continue to pursue five pillars toward the industrialisation agenda implementation.

He said, “The manufacturing sector would enable the country to fully utilise its endowment and depend less on foreign supply of finished goods and raw materials for its economic growth, development, and sustainability.

“The ministry under this present administration is committed to creating an enabling environment for industry, trade, and investment in the country.

“We would also intensify the implementation of the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan, attract long-term local and foreign investment, and champion the cause of Nigerian MSME as a means of creating jobs.