As the political campaign season starts, the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) has urged aspiring political leaders to effectively engage with stakeholders in the manufacturing sector on the right policies to improve the sector and the economy at large.
This was made known on Tuesday, at the 55th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of MAN, Ikeja branch themed ‘The impact of Political Environment on the Survival, Growth, and Development of the Nigeria Manufacturing Sector’.
While delivering his keynote address, Mansur Ahmed, President, MAN, said that as the country is in the process of electing new political leaders, there is need to engage them on what the sector needs in terms of policies and action.
“For us in the manufacturing sector, there is no better time to identify some of the critical challenges that we have been facing over the years such as multiple taxation, regulations, Foreign Exchange issues, energy prices and insufficient public services like water, electricity etc,” Ahmed said.
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He highlighted the issue about energy, stating that diesel costs almost N800 per litre which is very alarming and is causing problems for manufacturers. “We need to hear what the new political leaders intend to do in order to alleviate the high cost of energy process which is making manufacturers less competitive,” he added.
Similarly, Kenneth Erikume, Partner/Director, Tax Reporting & Strategy, PricewaterhouseCoopers Nigeria noted that many times, political leaders are blindsided as they come up with policies from their perspective alone and deal with short term gratification.
He added that the engagement should not stop at elections but should continue even after the assumption of office, so they can know how to formulate enabling policies going forward.
“Can they come to the table with the private sector and begin to engage and let us identify the key issues for each person,” Erikume said.
