Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has intensified advocacy campaign it mounted in respect of buying Nigeria products by circulating it members’ product listing booklet to all the country’s embassies around the world and all Federal Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs).
The advocacy campaign recently initiated by the new leadership of the Association is geared at providing visibility for all the products being manufactured in the country as well as easing their procurement by the government.
Mansur Ahmed, national president of the Association, who made this known last Thursday while addressing the 46th annual general meeting (AGM) of the Kano/Jigawa branch of the Association, said the initiative was a step towards reaching out to indigenous manufacturers and patronizing Made-In-Nigeria products.
He stated that the Association under his leadership would continue to engage the Federal Government and its MDAs with a view to ensuring they adequately patronise and give the benefit of the first refusal in government procurement exercise in line with the Presidential Order 003.
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“Distinguished members, it could be recalled that since the current leadership of MAN came into office in September last year, it has been committed to up-scaling the performance and relevance of the Association by raising the tempo of our advocacy.
“One of the steps we have so far taken was to intensify our efforts and engagements with heads of Governments, Ministries, Departments, and Agencies on policies that we believe can impact the real sector of the economy.
“As part of the advocacy, MAN has also published Members ` Product Listing Booklet which was distributed to all Embassies of Nigeria around the world and Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies in Nigeria, with the aim of placing before them, a comprehensive list of our members and their products for ease of procurement by the Government.
“It is hoped that this step will encourage the Government to reach out to indigenous manufacturers and patronise Made-In-Nigeria products, in line with the association `s on-going campaign,” he said.
In the same vein, the MAN’s president noted that his leadership had focused on the promotion of value-chain development as a means of achieving greater manufacturing sector contribution to the nation’s GDP, job creation and prosperity for the businesses of members of the Association.
“On our own part, we would ensure that we comply with the regulations and laws of the land, but should find any untoward or inhibitive regulations or laws, the Association will lead the process by advocating for change.
“In the last quarter of 2018, members of the Executive Committee and the Directors held a retreat aim at reviewing the state of the Association and came up with a 4-year transformation map that clearly charted the way forward in our Government relations, engagements with the external publics, and internal productivity,” he said.
Commenting further, he noted that the profile of MAN had been on the rise as well as a rise in her responsibility in the West Africa sub-region, and in the continent, such as the responsibility for reviving the Federation of West Africa Manufacturers Association (FEWAMA) assigned by ECOWAS Commission and Africa Union.
Similarly, he recounted the mandate given by the Africa Union to MAN to midwife the establishment of the African Manufacturers Association (AMA), in addition to playing leading roles in other Business Membership Organisations and Research Institutes in the country.
On the recently signed African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA), he said the Association had the backing of the government to enhance the capacity of the manufacturing sector to maximize the opportunities inherited in the agreement.
“We expect that MAN would be part of the national structures and processes that would be put in place by the Federal Government to manage the process. I, therefore, encourage all members to brace up for beneficial operations in the unfolding continental market.
“This will only be possible if we optimise our processes and innovate to compete effectively with our contemporaries in other countries, and in doing this, we have to work together to prevail on government to do its own bit by providing the conducive atmosphere,” he said.
In his welcome address earlier, Kabiru Musa Adamu, chairman, Sharada/Challawa branch of the Association, said despite the improved economic environment created in the out-gone year, there were still serious challenges confronting the manufacturing sector in the state.
In his address also, Sani Hussien Saleh, chairman, Bompai/Jigawa branch called on the governments of Kano and Jigawa states to step up support for local manufacturers in the two states, also calling on the Federal Government to ensure power supply to businesses in the states.
The highlight of the AGM was a lecture entitled ‘Survival of Industries in this harsh Economic Environment and Effect of Multiple Government Policies to Manufacturing Sector’ chaired by the Governor of Jigawa State, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar.
