Chukwudi Ogbonna, the Area Controller of Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) for Cross River/Akwa Ibom States, has said that Nigeria needs greater numbers of manufacturers instead of hotels if her economy could improve.
The Customs boss, who spoke in Calabar when he received the delegation of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), in Calabar at the Customs Headquarters, observed that there seemed to be more hotels in the Country compared with the manufacturing facilities.
He noted that there was no way a national economy could be boosted without the activities of manufacturers.
“Local or national economy can not survive without manufacturers. Manufacturing or a productive economy energizes any economy.
“But there seems to be more hotels than manufacturing concerns in Cross River and many other states. It shouldn’t be that way.
“We ourselves are affected when manufacturers are not working. We take in revenues when manufacturers are working. We should give more support to local manufacturers”, he said.
The MAN delegation led by its acting chairman, Usen Umoh, visited the NCS to express happiness with the collaboration and chart better ways to improve the relationships between the two States.
“We manufacturers cannot do without NCS. This is because as we manufacture, we also import and export. Therefore, we must always interface with NCS. Our businesses have a lot to do with Customs.
“We came to solicit greater cooperation between ourselves and the NCS”, Umoh said.
