Flood: MAN visits Harbor-Bridge Head Industrial Layout Onitsha to access damage

The National President, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Francis Meshioye has appealed to the Federal Government to explore Public Private Partnership (PPP) window in finding permanent solutions to the perennial flood disaster facing the country.

Meshioye suggested the approach when he visited Harbor-Bridge Head Industrial Layout, Onitsha, Anambra State to assess the extent of damage done to factories in the layout by the flood disaster.

Harbor-Bridge Head Industrial Layout, Onitsha which is on the bank of River Niger in Onitsha, Anambra State, plays host to numerous top level manufacturing companies in the South-East region.

Infrastructure and equipment worth millions of naira have been damaged by the flood while thousands of jobs are threatened as the companies affected struggle to pick up from the impact.

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Meshioye condoled with the Anambra State government on the death of her citizens who died in different parts of the state due to the flood and sympathised with members of the association and entire members of the industrial harbor for the damage done to their facilities.

The Chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi states Chapter, Ada Chukwudozie decried the impact of the deluge on their businesses and regretted that this is coming when local manufacturers in the South East region are suffering from insecurity and incessant sit-at-home orders in the region.

Chukwudozie said that Harbor-Bridge Head Industrial Layout, Onitsha is a major manufacturing cluster in Nigeria with not less than 50 companies and factories that have created jobs in thousands and invested massively in infrastructure, wealth creation, security, improving the living standards and other areas of corporate social responsibilities in their host communities.

She regretted that the layout and the South East region have suffered economic disruptions which have reduced production capacity and business activities in the harbor.

Speaking on behalf of the affected companies, the Executive Chairman of Pokobros Group West Africa Limited, Paul Okonkwo faulted the Federal Government for allowing the disaster to become a regular occurrence.

He wondered the rationale behind allocating billions of naira for flood relief interventions every time the flood happened when such resources could be channeled towards finding lasting solution to the menace.