President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday
said he would be reaching out to captains of industry from across the
country in the coming months to assist him in implementing his
administration’s agenda for the economy.
Buhari said this in a keynote address he
delivered at the opening of the 44th Annual General Meeting of the
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria in Abuja.
The President, who did not include
members of the private sector in his Economic Management Team unlike
what obtained in the past, enjoined members of MAN to avail him their
wealth of experience in order to make his administration’s ongoing
efforts to reposition the economy a success.
The President said, “I salute all
members of MAN and once again congratulate you on the occasion of your
44th AGM and invite you today to join hands with the government in
making our ongoing efforts a success.
“As events unfold in the coming months,
many of you will be called upon to play critical roles in the
implementation of this administration’s agenda. I implore you to avail
us your wealth of experience so that together, we can uplift our
nation’s economy and social well-being.”
While reflecting on the theme of the
AGM, ‘Diversifying the Nigerian economy: The role of government in
manufacturing’, Buhari urged MAN members to consider national interest
so that the outcome of the deliberations would be to the benefit of
Nigerians workers and promoters alike.
He said he was looking forward to receiving a communiqué of the deliberations at the meeting.
The President said the nation owed the
captains of industry a debt of gratitude for their show of commitment,
demonstrated by their respective investments in the Nigerian economy
despite daunting challenges.
He said the nation’s future depended on such commitment and collective desire to build a thriving economy.
Buhari added that his administration
remained committed to partnering the manufacturers in the task of
charting a brighter future for the nation.
He described the meeting as timely,
coming at a time when the nation was faced with the urgent need to
diversify the economy in the light of dwindling price of crude oil in
the global market.
Buhari reiterated the fact that the fall
in crude oil and other commodity prices has had a serious negative
impact on world economies, especially in countries like Nigeria, which
depended on one commodity for its export earnings.
He added, “This administration is
convinced that the key to our quest for economic diversification and
therefore survival lies in agriculture and the manufacturing sector. A
strong manufacturing sector will create more jobs and wealth for our
people. It will usher in sustainable economic prosperity, because we
will produce what we consume as a nation and generate foreign exchange
by exporting any surplus.
“The manufacturing sector is well
positioned to be a major driver of Nigeria’s economic growth, because of
our immense natural resources and the entrepreneurial spirit of
Nigerians. Government is, therefore, focused on implementing necessary
policies and strategies aimed at unleashing the full potential of
manufacturing in Nigeria.
“We will rely heavily on your ideas and
inputs at all stages of formulation and implementation of new industrial
policies. For our part, we will remove bottlenecks and create a more
business friendly environment.”
Buhari said his administration’s plan to
boost manufacturing activities in the country was supported by the
Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan and the National Enterprises
Development Programme.
These programmes, he said, presented a clear road map for an industrialised economy.
He added that his government was working
on improving the patronage of locally-made goods, bridging the gap
between the skills required by industry and those provided by
educational institutions, and access to finance for Small and
Medium-scale Enterprises.
Meanwhile, the President of the Dangote
Group, Aliko Dangote, has called on the Federal Government to ensure
consistent implementation of industrial policies as a way of encouraging
the manufacturing sector.
Dangote made the call in his address at the MAN AGM.
According to him, policy inconsistency destabilises industrial production plans and erodes investors’ confidence.
“For instance, the suspension of the
Negotiable Duty Credit Certificate to exporters and non-payment of
existing claims have discouraged non-oil exports and frustrated
contracts entered into with overseas buyers,” he said.
Dangote also sought more support for small and medium-scale manufacturers.
He said since many Nigerian
manufacturers were relatively small with limited capital to support
their investments, the government had to develop industrial clusters
with requisite infrastructure for this category of businesses.
He added that they should also have access to soft loans as well as research and development support.
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