Otunba Francis Meshioye, the recently elected President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), has shared his plans for the organization’s future.
He states that “with the Secretariat’s assistance, the Association will refocus its advocacy efforts on the following mandates: To increase the output of the manufacturing sector and its contribution to GDP to 20% by 2030; to increase exports of Nigerian manufactured goods to other African countries and beyond; to improve evidence-based advocacy through proactive engagement with legislators, policymakers, regulators, and other stakeholders; to promote manufacturing sector employment through capacity building, new technologies, and professional advisory services; and to foster inclusive inter-industry collaboration.
Additionally, “Man’s advocacy outreach should be expanded at the regional and continental levels through active participation in and cooperation with pertinent institutions; drive MAN’s efficacy by ongoing advancements in corporate governance, technology enablement, and financial viability; Ensure effective and prompt dissemination of MAN’s views and positions to all branches of government, members, and the general public through print, social, and electronic media. Improve the quality of membership services by fostering a more favorable operating environment, expanding access to finance, improving public service availability, and providing information to members.
The President, who was the association’s Chairman of the Ikeja branch before being chosen as the association’s 11th President at its 50th AGM the year before, proclaimed his agenda in his address during the seventh edition of the MAN REPORTER OF THE YEAR AWARD/PRESIDENTIAL MEDIA LUNCHEON yesterday.He mentioned the 50th Annual General Meeting’s topic, “An Agenda for Nigeria’s Industrialization for the Next Decade,” and said it had solidified the Association’s lobbying strategy going forward.”MAN is also being strategically engaged during this election year to put its issues on the front burner,” he said.
We have discussed the significance of having a robust and competitive manufacturing sector with the candidates for the presidency. We have urged prominent political competitors in a variety of settings to include the necessity of accelerating the expansion and development of the manufacturing sector in their economic agenda. In this regard, we have made our Blueprint for the Accelerated Development of Political Parties available to all of them. Print, social media, and electronic media are used to inform members and the general public about manufacturing in Nigeria as well as its 10-year agenda.The President concluded by expressing his gratitude to the media partners who equally covered the Association extensively and briefly.”
This year, we have made certain systemic changes to ensure that we engage more closely with you, our partners,” he continued. In order to increase the performance and economic contribution of the manufacturing sector, we will implement more creative and smart advocacy channelsSegun Ajayi-Kadiri, mni, the association’s director general, touched on the troubling concerns the nation is currently dealing with and listed the currency crisis problems.”I don’t see the currency problem lasting for too long,” he said, “since it is clear to the government that people need to have access to their possessions. But it shouldn’t go on for too long. The currency are available, so we were told. I believe the CBN’s logistics are super, The CBN does not impose the necessary coordination with money deposit banks. We ought to be experiencing a smooth monetary flow by this point. Banditory, the election process, and criminal actions that large sums of money facilitate shouldn’t be permitted; however, other steps and excellent recommendations have been offered, so CBN only needs to take these into account to ensure that this needless suffering comes to an end. Agreement between CBN and the new cash to co-exist is a good thing.”The DG said, “I have always recommended that we rely on domestic investors in light of Nigeria losing foreign investors due to the lack of means of commerce. If foreigners visit our country, they will speak with Nigerians who are already in business. Investors will inevitably appear if the domestic or local economy is thriving. To grow our economy, we should focus more on domestic manufacturers than on foreign investment.The DG predicted that this year’s reports on foreign exchange wouldn’t differ from those from previous years, but instead would be consistent with our past experiences.”We need to eliminate the stifling restrictions that prevent manufacturing from expanding and devise a plan to reward manufacturers.This is what government has not done.
Manufacturing is a deliberate effort from government all over the world. In the midst of these we have policies of government and agencies being created. The funding of these agencies are taken from the profits of the manufacturing industry, this is chaotic. Yet we see economy around us perfecting their games. With AfCFTA we can’t get our borders closed. We can’t have unproductive or uncompetitive manufacturing sector and expect that goods won’t be imported, these goods come in to unfairly compete with locally made product despite the hardship in production in the country. There are energy crisis, price of diesel has gone up, we are having brain drain. The community we operate in are also putting pressure on us as manufacturer.”Without producing what we import, we cannot increase our gross domestic product, thus there won’t be an improvement in foreign exchange. Our commitments to the government state that if we don’t create what we import, we can’t have a better currency. Improvement is impossible if our naira keeps going after commodities produced outside of Nigeria; unless we buck the trend, we will require dollars rather than naira to buy goods outside. Those in charge of our money should be more concerned about the fact that we do not need the CBN.According to the association’s accessment measures, awards were given to media professionals from a variety of channels.
, has shared his plans...){kind=link}