President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Francis Meshioye, has lamented the state of the economy, which he said is in a dire state and urged the government and policymakers to be intentional about growing the manufacturing sector.
Speaking at this year’s presidential media luncheon held at MAN House, Meshioye said there is no country considered as developed, that does not give priority attention to the real sector as manufacturing is pivotal to galvanising and sustaining the economic growth and development of the country.
He warned that the government and her agencies to abstain from taking harmful and inconsiderate policies that lack inputs of key players that would be affected, chief among those, the ban on single-use plastics and styrofoam packs by the Lagos State Government and NAFDAC’s ban on alcoholic beverages in pet bottles and sachet below 200ml.
He said the decision on styrofoam packs was taken outside the timeframe set by the national policy and that of alcoholic beverages in sachets based on unfounded assumptions; both without due consideration for the economic and social impact of those unwarranted decisions.
Meshioye added that the negative impact of both policies on the manufacturing industries affected as well as the huge number of workers whose jobs are on the line cannot be overemphasized, adding that it has become pertinent for the government and private sector to work in tandem to revamp the ailing real sector by exploring home-grown policy initiatives that will address our challenges.
“It must be noted that the nation’s economic recovery is highly dependent on the deployment of policy stimulus supported with a synthesis of domestic growth, export-focused and offensive trade strategies. This will promote resilience, steady growth and ensure that the sector gains meaningful traction going forward.”
Proffering recommendations to improve the sector this year, he urged the government to expend cost saving from fuel subsidy to deploy a bouquet of production-focused policies, backed with more structural measures to combat the peculiar inflationary pressures from insecurity, energy and transport costs; overhaul the power sector and incentive investment in renewables to boost electricity generation and promote energy-cost efficiency as well as lead by example and give priority to patronage of made-in-Nigeria product in all its purchases and for all government contracts and projects.
“Government should mandatorily upscale patronage of made-in-Nigeria products by deliberately reducing the excessive reliance of the country on imported products. The three tiers of government should enforce the implementation of Executive Order 003 in the same for their ministries, departments and agencies. Government should encourage local sourcing of raw materials through comprehensive and integrated incentives to address the challenges of low productivity and imported inflation and utilise the 2024 budget to sustain efforts at improving infrastructural developments, especially in strategic industrial hubs to reduce operation and logistics costs and promote competitiveness.
“Also, sub-national governments and private investors should be encouraged to leverage the opportunities provided by the Electricity Act 2023 to improve energy security in Nigeria while maintaining all measures to boost the level of liquidity and degree of transparency in the official forex window even as the backlog of $7 billion forex obligations is being cleared. Government should also manage the floating exchange rate system within an acceptable lower and upper bound, pending the actualisation of net-exporting economy aspirations.”
