The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has said that the  manufacturing business is the most endangered sector due to the challenges they are having in forex shortage and other issues.

Central Bank of Nigeria’s processes of allocating foreign exchange have its members in a dire situation.

The association President, Otunba Francis Meshioye stated this at the 7th edition of the MAN Reporter of the Year Award/2023 Presidential Media Luncheon held at MAN House, Ikeja, Lagos last week.

The event was organised to honour Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN) who distinguished themselves in the reportage of the manufacturing sector in the country and the activities of the association in the previous year.

Fielding questions from journalists, the MAN president who said the association had engaged the politicians by submitting documents on the challenges confronting the manufacturing sector to the economic teams of the different presidential candidates, explained that the manufacturing sector formed the lever of development of any nation.

He lamented that the country’s manufacturing sector was becoming an endangered specie and the new government must make deliberate policies to revitalise it, and not pay lip service to its revitalisation.

He said, ‘MAN is also being strategic in its engagement during this electioneering year to place its issues on the front burner. We have engaged the Presidential aspirants on the importance of having a virile and competitive manufacturing sector.

“We have equally pushed at different fora with major political contenders to incorporate the need to accelerate the growth and development of the manufacturing sector in their economic agenda.

“In this regard, we have availed all the political parties with our Blueprint for the Accelerated Development of Manufacturing in Nigeria as well as the agenda for manufacturing in Nigeria for the next 10 years.

“Power (electricity) and Foreign exchange are important to manufacturing. As you know that manufacturers can only get 5 per cent of their Forex demand from the Central Bank of Nigeria at official window, but the rest they have to source through the parallel market to import machines and other inputs not readily available locally. “Govt should prioritise Forex to manufacturing sector which has the capacity to reflate the economy and provide employment.” 

Otunba Meshioye also called on the government to tackle the nagging challenges of cash crunch and fuel scarcity as they would definitely have negative effects on goods production and sales, “because if consumers don’t have cash at hand it might lead to stocks pilling up on the shelves.”

He said MAN was addressing the Rules of Origin concerning the African Continental Free Trade Area by ascertaining the true origins of goods and products coming into the country in order to guard against dumping, which could kill the local industries.

The MAN president who commended the media for their partnership with association over the years, listed what his administration is set to achieve to include improving evidence-based advocacy through proactive engagement with legislators, policymakers, regulators, and other stakeholders; and increasing the output of the manufacturing sector and its contribution to GDP to 20% by 2030.

Others are increasing export of Nigerian manufactured products to other African Countries and beyond; and promoting manufacturing sector employment through capacity building, new technologies, and professional advisory services, promoting inclusive inter-industry linkage between SMIs and large corporations by encouraging the development of industry value chains, industrial parks, and collaboration with academia.

He also hopes to extend MAN’s advocacy outreach at regional and continental levels through robust membership in and collaboration with relevant institutions and drive MAN’s effectiveness through continuous improvement of human resources, technology enablement, corporate governance, and financial viability among others.

Ajayi-Kadir, who emphasised the importance of forex, said misplaced priority on the part of the government had caused the manufacturing sector to suffer the most with regard to the allocation of foreign exchange.

He said, “When we do exports and repatriate our profits, it goes through the CBN. So, they know every kobo that is coming into your account. When they get it, you can only get your money back at the official rate.

“The painful thing is that once you are subjected through all these processes and have gotten your money at the official rate including the little encouragement they give if you bring it through the I and E window, when you now want to import raw materials or spare parts or machines to produce again.

“You go to the money deposit banks, the ones that they are able to give you, if you are lucky, are about five per cent of what you want. You would now have to go to Bureau De Change, and we know their rates. So, we are shortchanged and this is why the sector’s performance is decreasing.”

The MAN DG said the only way Nigeria will get out of the current forex crisis would be to bolster local production of goods which can be manufactured within the country.

He urged the government to give priority to the productive sector by encouraging production activities in the country.

“There is no way you will get out of the forex crisis if you do not produce locally, and it is common sense that what you import is what you need dollars for. If we produce them in Nigeria we won’t need dollars to import them. So, we should give priority to the productive sector that has the capacity to revamp the economy and encourage production activities within the country.

“Manufacturing is becoming such an endangered profession. We have always said that manufacturing is not a business endeavour like any other. It is a deliberate choice that every country has to make. There is no country in the world that has become developed that does not have a vibrant manufacturing industry,” he stated further.

The Director-General, MAN, Dr Segun Ajayi-Kadir earlier said MAN “is committed to making manufacturing environment more conducive for manufacturers and to ensure that the sector contributes its quota to the GDP.”

While he expressed the commitment of the President to work with the media, congratulated the winners of awards at the ceremony, urging their colleagues to emulate them in submitting their entries and participating.

Reeling out the criteria used in arriving at selecting winners of the MAN Reporter of the Year 2022 Award, Director Corporate Services, MAN, Mr Ambrose Oruche mentioned number of approved reports, content, use of language, overall impact, presentation, and the angle of the reports among others.

He called on the journalists made up mostly of commerce and industry beat correspondents to keep up the tempo of their participation, urging them to suggest ways of improving the award.

Awards were later presented to ten winners with top two each selected from the Print media, TV, Radio, Online news platforms and Photo journalists.

Responding, the President of Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN), Mr Charles Okonji commended MAN for the mutual relationship between the two bodies. He promised that CICAN would continue to work harmoniously with MAN and the new President