- The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has called on the incoming administration to reset Nigeria’s economy as it is currently in a dangerous state.
In a statement yesterday by the Director General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, he said the major issues that the president-elect, Bola Ahmad Tinubu, need to solve is to end self-inflicting policies that have led to economic ‘hemorrhage.’
“We have unemployment, which is prevalent among the youth at 33.3 per cent, even as the GDP annual growth rate is about 3.52%. Today, the government’s debt to GDP ratio is 37% from 34.5% last year. The latest addition that is disrupting the economy in a profound manner is the redesign of the national currency and the attendant scarcity, an otherwise excellent monetary control measure by the CBN, but for the inexplicable poor management of the transition process.”
Kadir said the inadequacy of needed infrastructure and the myriad of macroeconomic challenges in the country that had constituted binding constraints to the performance of the economy.
He therefore advised within his 1st 100 days after the swearing-in, he should direct the CBN to prioritize issuance of foreign exchange to the productive sector, “particularly to manufacturers to import raw materials, spares, and machinery that are not locally available. And taking immediate and time-bound steps to achieve the unification of the foreign exchange windows.”
“The president-elect should announce a special policy initiative to de-risk manufacturing and unleash adequate funding for the sector through effective funding of special lending windows while permanently resolving the lingering difficulties with the currency transition which has resulted in a more than 25 percent dip in sales of manufactured products.”
