The Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) emphasised the need to patronise goods produced locally to achieve a self-reliant economy at the opening of its three-day made-in-Nigeria exhibition in Lagos.
“Achieving Self-reliance will not only strengthen and deepen our economy, but it will also position us to play a dominant role in the emerging continental market,” Mansur Ahmed, President MAN said in his remarks.
“It will also put us in a position to be the biggest player in the emerging continental market.”
Furthermore, Ahmad endeared the patronage of made-in-Nigeria to achieve this.
“This association has consistently urged the federal government and all its agencies to show an example by ensuring that all procurements and purchases of goods required by government are produced by manufacturers in Nigeria, because it is only then that the government and all other stakeholders can now charge other Nigerians to voluntarily buy made-in-Nigeria rather than imported goods,” Ahmad said.
“Executive orders 003 and 005 exemplified the commitment of the federal government to grow our domestic production through the patronage of locally produced goods. It is in this regard that the Presidential Committee on the Monitoring of the Implementation of Order 005 should indeed start or be called to action.”
He noted that the country’s economy has suffered in the last few years, not only because of external forces such as COVID-19 but also because of policy directions, which have not been helpful to the domestic economy.
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“We believe that it is important that as the government is now considering the policies that have been made and programs that have been designed to strengthen our economy, implementation is given key and special attention,” he said.
“On our part, I want to assure you that the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and the sector as a whole will rise to the occasion and make sure that we build on the existing capacities and continue to improve the quality of our goods and our competitiveness, despite all the problems we face.”
In addressing the scarcity of foreign exchange for manufacturers to import raw materials or attend to other demands, business friendly policy formulation and implementation were highlighted as a way out.
“Unless we think out of the box, survival of industry in Nigeria,” Hassan Adamu former President, MAN and the guest speaker said in his remarks.
“I want to use this media to call the Central Bank Governor to give special attention and allocation to the industry, put policies that will encourage exports, and also to allow those who have the foreign exchange and to keep and access it.”
Featuring 100 exhibitors, the three-day event which is scheduled from October 17 – 19, 2022 was one of the activities to mark MAN’s 50th annual general meeting.
It was organised by MAN to showcase made-in-Nigeria products and to create the taste, demand, and growth of the manufacturing sector in Nigeria with dogged advocacy for the patronage of Made-in-Nigeria products by not only the government but indeed the generality of Nigerians.
