Yemisi Izuora
The President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Frank Udemba Jacobs has challenged government to take seriously its policy statement on diversification of national economy.
The MAN president said government should demonstrate enough commitment to ensure realisation of such plan as similar pronouncements in the past remained largely un-accomplished.
He said oil receipts in 2014 constituted 63.8 percent of the total government revenue while non-oil receipts accounted for 36.2 percent.
Jacobs said that Nigeria’s Manufacturing sector contributed only 9.11 percent to the GDP in Q4 of 2014 which he considered insignificant when compared with those of advanced economy.
He further said that Nigeria must diversify its economy for it to remain the largest economy in West Africa and assume the position of one of the leading 20 global economies in the year 2020.
The president observed that the manufacturing sector remain one of the surest ways to revive the economy as the sector is essential to job creation, sustained growth and development of other key sectors such as Agriculture, solid minerals among others.
“To achieve the desired goals there is the need to urgently address the challenges militating against the growth of the manufacturing sector ranging from acute infrastructure deficiency to insecurity, smuggling and unbridled importation and dumping of cheap and substandard finished products” Jacobs said at MAN’s annual general meeting in Lagos today.
He also lamented collection of multiple taxes which he said constitute a threat to the survival and growth of businesses in Nigeria.
He further complained high cost of energy which has resulted in uncompetitive pricing of locally produced goods, as Nigeria is one of the most expensive countries in terms of electricity tariff.