MAN to Govt: Be deliberate in repositioning manufacturing sector

….Awards outstanding journalists

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, has emphasised the need for the government and the private sector to work in tandem to revamp the country’s ailing manufacturing sector at this critical time.

President of the association, Mr Francis Meshioye made this known at the 8th edition of the MAN presidential media lunch and award ceremony in Lagos.

Mr Meshioye noted that there was a need to mobilize the country’s local resources and take deliberate steps to overcome the binding constraints that confront the productive sector.

He said this could be achieved through frank conversations, effective collaboration and bold decisions that radically depart from the norm.

According to Mr Meshioye, the government needs to collaborate with the private sector especially at this time, by exploring home grown policy initiatives that will address peculiar challenges.

The MAN President stressed 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.

Mr Meshioye, pointed out that these would promote resilience, steady growth and ensure that the sector gains meaningful traction going forward.

In his words, “Dear partners, the opportunity of this gathering has provided a veritable platform for the Association to reecho the pain points of the manufacturing sector.
Our country’s economy is in a dire state and our policy makers, more than ever before, need to be intentional about growing the manufacturing sector. There is no country considered as developed that does not give priority attention to the manufacturing sector.

“There is no gainsaying the fact that manufacturing is pivotal to galvanizing and sustaining the economic growth and development of Nigeria. The government needs to come to the realization that a win for the manufacturing sector is a win for the economy and by extension a better life of the citizenry.

“Government and its agencies should deliberately abstain from taking harmful and inconsiderate policies that lack adequate inputs of key player that would be affected. Permit me to make reference to two of such instances”.

The MAN President berated what was happening to the exchange rate and called on the government to fix it.

The MAN President recommended that in order to achieve the targeted One trillion dollar economy, efforts should be deployed in exploring renewable energy alternatives to boost power generation and transmission,which is critical to drive businesses.

MAN also called for local sourcing of raw materials, giving preference to manufacturers in allocation of Forex , prioritization of Made in Nigeria products in their purchases , amongst others.

In an address,the Director General of MAN, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadri solicited the continued and closer cooperation of media practitioners to increase advocacy for a more vibrant manufacturing sector in the country.

Mr. Ajayi-Kadri explained that the MAN award was a major platform for pushing forwards issues for the promotion of manufacturing in Nigerians.

On the protest by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Director General of MAN, Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said all hands must be on deck to lower the cost of living.

On his part, the President of Commerce and Industry Association of Nigeria, Mr. Charles. Okonta said that journalists were determined to contribute their quota in repositioning the manufacturing sector, but called for support to enable professional function better

The high point of the event was the presentation of MAN Reporter of the year awards to outstanding journalists from Radio, Tv, Print and online media as well as Photojournalist.