The president of the Manufacturer Association of Nigeria (MAN), Francis Meshioye has advocated the need to implement reforms to enhance the competitiveness of domestic products.
Meshioye said this at the media briefing ahead of the 52nd annual general meeting of the Association. He lamented on how the macroeconomic and policy environment have been affecting business negatively, saying, “the high and rising cost environment continues to shrink profitability and, in many cases, threaten the existence of many operators in this critical sector of the economy.
Speaking on the theme for the 52nd AGM tagged: ‘The Imperatives of an International Development of the Nigerian Manufacturing Sector’, he said, “the choice of the theme for this year speaks volume about our direction and resolve to birth a thriving manufacturing sector.
“The theme was couched with a deep reflection on the growth trajectory of the manufacturing sector in Nigeria. The high and rising cost environment continues to shrink profitability and, in many cases, threaten the existence of many operators in this critical sector of the economy.”
He added that “more worrisome is the fact that the sector that should propel job creation, productivity, and economic growth is enmeshed with a series of challenges that constantly limit its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product.”
According to the MAN president, we need to urgently address the binding constraints that make our local products uncompetitive, otherwise, the economy may continue on the downward trend with no certainty on when it will rebound.
“As critical stakeholders in the Nigerian economy, we shall continue to play our role of presenting the government with policy inputs and options. We shall continue to partner with governments with a view to co-creating innovative solutions that will free the Nigerian economy from its lacklustre performance and place it on the path of productivity, sustainable growth and development,” he pointed out.
He revealed that the president & CEO of the Africa Finance Corporation, Samaila Zubairu will be the guest speaker at the fourth Odutola Annual Lecture.
