The Organised Private Sector (OPS) says the new executive orders from the Presidency have the capacity to attract new manufacturing investments and raise capacity utilisation in the industry, given that the pillars take patronage of locally made products and efficiency of the business environment seriously.
Manufacturers who spoke with BusinessDay last night, said the three executive orders would raise manufacturing output in next to no time and likewise boost business confidence and enable local players compete effectively.
“We are happy about these orders because we know they will support manufacturers, particularly in terms of promoting made-in-Nigeria products,” said Frank Udemba Jacobs, president, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), in a telephone interview.
Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s acting president, recently endorsed three executive orders to boost the business environment and rejig the economy.
The three main pillars of the executive orders include: promotion of transparency and efficiency in the business environment, support for local contents in public procurement by the Federal Government, and efficient operation and implementation of the federal budget.
The executive mandates that at least 40 percent of the procurement spending of all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government be expended on locally manufactured goods or services.
The manufacturing sector has been on the downward trend recently, owing to foreign exchange crunch and infrastructure shortages. However, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s new FX rules have made dollars available for importation of inputs, leading to a rise in manufacturing contribution to GDP to 9.31 percent, as against 8.37 percent in the last quarter of 2016.
At the end of 2015, estimated cumulative manufacturing investments from 2013 to 2015 stood at N3.18 trillion. However, the value of total manufacturing investments in 2015 was N489.45 billion as against N691.81 billion estimated in 2014, indicating N202.36 billion decline over the period.
“The directive has the potential to enable Nigeria achieve medicines’ security as well as boost national self-sufficiency in pharmaceuticals and related health commodities,” said Okey Akpa, chairman of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of MAN in an e-mailed message.
Akpa outlined other positive outcomes of the directive to include stimulation of massive employment in the pharma sector, improvement of the economy and facilitation of export of Nigerian medicines to neighbouring countries.
He said the order represents the most expeditious and effective approach to guarantee Nigerians’ sustainable access to high quality and affordable medicines, urging the government to ensure its successful implementation, particularly in the areas of intelligence, research, policy monitoring and evaluation.
Nike Akande, president of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said the executive orders would impact the ease of doing business, fast-track budgetary administration and promote made-in Nigeria products.
“On our part, we will track the compliance with these orders by relevant MDAs, follow up compliance and report outcomes/feedback from private sector players on an on-going basis. We call on the state governments to replicate these reforms, as applicable in their respective states. This is required to complement the efforts of the Federal Government on Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria,” Akande said.
ODINAKA ANUDU
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