The managing Director, Sigma Pensions, Dave Uduanu has tasked manufacturers on enhancing industrial productivity citing it important for the growth of Nigeria’s economy.
Uduanu said this while speaking at the first CEO Business Luncheon organised by MAN in Port Harcourt recently which was sponsored by Sigma Pensions.
Representing Uduanu, the head of Investment, Sigma Pensions Limited, Pabina Yinkere, advised that for manufacturing industry to thrive and attract more investors and marketers, manufacturers must ensure standard products.
He also called for a viable manufacturing sector, noting that it might be tough to achieve but, when achieved, would turn around the economy of the country for good.
He said:” Nigeria’s manufacturing sector only accounts for about 4 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). That is insignificant. If we look at the developed economy today, manufacturing accounts for more than 50 per cent of those economics. If you look at countries like China, manufacturing is the significant part of their economy.”
“Now, for an industry to get industrialised, it must have a viable manufacturing sector that is contributing a lot to the economy. Because it is in manufacturing that you can create the employment opportunities that help to drive economic activities. It is in manufacturing that you can position yourself to be competitive in particular items.”
“So, if you do not have a viable manufacturing sector, it is going to be tough for that country to become industrialised and if you do not become industrialised, it affects how well you can grow and how prosperous your citizens will be.”
He also charged MAN to tackle the impediments that affects the growth of the manufacturing industries in Nigeria.
The Chairman of MAN, Rivers/Bayelsa branch, Adawari Michael Pepple, in his speech, noted that for a business to thrive, the environment where it is done must be conducive, peaceful and free of fear of criminality.
Speaking on the theme of the business luncheon “Current Realities in the New African Common Market (AFCFTA): The Role of Nigeria Customs Service and other Business Support Organisation”, Pepple stressed that the meeting became necessary following the fact that the manufacturing industry has always been the key to economic growth and creation of employment in any country.
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