The Manufacturers Association of
Nigeria (MAN) has offered its members an alternative solution to addressing the
unstable power supply problems that affects operations and production in their
factories.
Chairman Cross River/Akwa Ibom
Branch of MAN, Mr Akin Oyediran, disclosed this during the association's 16
Annual General Meeting, (AGM) and Public Lecture on Friday in Calabar.
Mr. Oyediran said electricity
supply is a major challenge to manufacturers. The public power supply is both
inadequate and unreliable. The cost of generating own electricity is daily
escalating with high cost of diesel, electricity generators and spare parts.
According to him, manufacturers
must change their orientation and start looking for effective ways to solve
their teething problems such as poor power, finance among others.
"MAN came up with an
initiative where a power system is constructed in a factory without the owners
of the factories going to the banks to seek loans.
"When this system is
installed, the factory owner pays for usage gradually for 15 years and after 15
years, he owns the system, meanwhile, he no longer has anything to do with
diesel or the power holding companies,” he said.
He advised Nigerians to patronise
made-in-Nigeria goods adding that for every one dollar spent on a foreign
product, it makes the product and the foreign company better while local
manufacturers die.
According to him, it is sad that
some Nigerians in the corridors of power still came out to demand imported cars
when there were local manufacturers in the nation.
He also maintained that Nigeria
government cannot fix the exchange rate issues in the nation until the
manufacturing sector is made vibrant.
The theme of the AGM was:
"sustaining local production in a challenging and competitive economy; the
manufacturer's perspective".
Oyediran said one of the major
challenges manufacturers had was never looking at innovation but relying on
government to change things, adding that this system never worked.
"We can have geniuses in the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and government but if we are not making,
consuming and selling what we make, we will end up with beautiful presentations
of Nigeria being a growing economy that never grows.
"We need to fix this country
and the only way is through manufacturing; we need to dig out things from the
ground and transform them to things we can use and sell, otherwise, we are
wasting time as a nation,” he said.
Also speaking, the state
governor, Bassey Otu who was the Special Guest of Honour at the AGM said all
over the world, no country would survive without manufacturing adding that
manufacturers must be celebrated.
Represented by Mr Bashel Justin,
Cross River, Commissioner for Science and Technology, Otu said he was aware of
the challenges faced by manufacturers in the state which had made many of them
fold up.
"We are poised to addressing
multiple taxation and building from where the previous administration in the
state stopped in turning the state from a civil service state to a production
state through partnerships," he said.
Managing Director Champion
Brewery and member of MAN, Dr Adoga Inalegwu, said it was time for the nation
to start looking at development through manufacturing.
He added that the brewery which
is based in Akwa Ibom was expanding to ensure that their products get to all
nooks and cranny of the nation.
In his lecture at the AGM, the
guest lecturer, Mr. Imo-Abasi Jacob, Managing Director/CEO, Akwa Ibom State
Investment Corporation noted that Cross River and Akwa Ibom states should
develop policies that encourage the manufacturing sector especially those
utilizing locally sourced raw materials to site their factories in the region
to develop the value chain for local products create employment and development
to the communities.
President of MAN Otunba Francis
Meshioye in his message to the AGM re-assured participants that the association
will continue to give priority to issues affecting the manufacturing sector.
"We shall continue to strive
towards ensuring that Government provides the much-needed enabling environment
for our huge investments to thrive and create jobs for our youths," he
maintained.
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