MAN demands 5% interest rate, forex policy review

The President of Manu­facturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Frank Jacobs has de­manded a downwards review of the current interest rate to five per cent.

Dr. Jacobs was speaking against the backdrop of the cur­rent Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) of 14 per cent.

Speaking at the 33rd Annual General Meeting of Oyo/Osun/Ondo/Ekiti State Branch of MAN which was held at Jogor Cen­tre, Ibadan, the Oyo State capi­tal, Dr. Jacobs said: “We are not happy about the current MPR. If truly we want to industrialize this country, we want the interest rate in the neighbourhood of five per cent. It is the only way we can di­versify the economy”.

Similarly, the manufacturers’ helmsman called on the federal government to review items re­stricted from accessing forex.

Jacobs emphasized that man­ufacturing deserved attention and therefore reiterated that some of the items on the “not valid for forex allocation” should be removed as they are not local­ly available.

He however said the associa­tion has had regular engagements with the Federal Government, saying the body sympathized with the government because the forex is not there.

On the proposed increase of Value Added Tax (VAT), Jacobs stressed that this is not the time to increase taxes, stressing that the country is in recession.

He added: “This is the time to give incentives to the people to produce. If there are a lot of taxes, they would not be able to produce and create employment.”

In a lecture titled: ‘’Fiscal Pol­icy Thrust for Inclusive Growth in Nigeria Manufacturing Sector,’ Prof.(Mrs.) Olajumoke Familo­ni-Adeosun, who is the Found­er/ Chief Executive Officer of In­ternational Centre for Leadership and Entrepreneurship Develop­ment (ICLED) urged govern­ment to set aside some land as industrial parks.

Prof. Familoni-Adeosun who was the guest lecturer stressed that building infrastructure, con­duct value-adding research and partnership are vital for industri­al development.

While calling on the gov­ernment to inject funds into the economy, Prof. Familoni-Adeo­sun said this is not the time to strangulate the system.

“Money must circulate to the local and indigenous contrac­tors. This is the time to borrow as much as possible. The local manufacturers must not suffer,” Familoni-Adeosun who lectures at Lead City University, Ibadan said.

The lecturer who was a man­ufacturer in the USA for years pointed out that manufacturers are the lifeline of the nation.

According to her, “It is a la­bour intensive sector. It absorbs a lot of human capital”.

She however decried low pa­tronage market of locally made goods, wondering why Nigeri­ans always prefer to buy import­ed items.

Speaking further, the en­trepreneur-turned academ­ic charged manufacturers no to compromise on quality, main­taining that as government is playing its role, manufacturers must ensure quality production.

“Don’t remove in the quality of your products. You can cut in other areas that will not direct­ly affect the consumers, but not the quality.

“We need to do ours while government is doing its bit. Abide by the rules,” she said.

Urging them to train and re­train their workers so that they would not be doing the thinking alone, the professor emphasized that training would enhance staff capabilities and capacities.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State who was represented by Commissioner for Trade, In­dustries and Cooperatives, Prin­cess Taibat Adeyemi-Adaba said the state government was making efforts to respond to dwindling revenue and pursue policies to rescue the state economically.

He solicited data and infor­mation that would aid the gov­ernment in its policy formula­tion.

Also speaking the Chairman, Oyo/Osun/Ondo/Ekiti State Branch of MAN, Chief Kola Akosile said: “In the midst of a gloomy economic climate, our members remained resolute and hopeful that the economy will recover soon so that the manu­facturing sector will once again operate at its full potential and contribute positively to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the nation”.

On his part, the Oyo State Director of Standards Organi­zation of Nigeria (SON), Engr. Dele Ayeni, urged Nigerians to increase their patronage of made-in-Nigeria goods. Ayeni reiterat­ed the agency’s resolve to partner with MAN in making Nigerian products competitive in the glob­al market.

He urged the manufactur­ers to produce quality products, stressing that, “nothing sells in a product better than the quality of such a product”.