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Tag: MAN

  • Budget 2016 ‘ll stimulate economy, say LCCI, MAN

    Budget 2016 ‘ll stimulate economy, say LCCI, MAN

    The Organised Private Sector (OPS) is excited about the N6.06 trillion budget for this fiscal year.

    The Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) said the budget would stimulate the economy.

    LCCI Director-General Muda Yusuf said the budget’s size  and its reflationary character would have a stimulating effect on the economy.

    He said it is what the economy needs at this time, considering the economic slowdown of 2.1 per cent in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth from about four per cent a year ago, rise in unemployment and slow down in industrial activities.

    The LCCI chief praised the budget for giving priority to infrastructure as well as security, noting that it is a step in the right direction given the huge infrastructure deficit in the country and having regard to the security challenges in some parts of the country, particularly the northeast.

    Yusuf, however, said the budget’s debt service provision of N1.5 trillion is a cause for serious concern. According to him, it shows that Nigeria is operating a debt profile that is not sustainable.

    “This amount is about 35 per cent of revenue, which has already exceeded the global threshold for debt sustainability,” he pointed out.

    The LCCI chief added that although debt service is an obligation over which the nation has very little choice, the lesson is that Nigeria needs to review her debt management strategy to reduce the burden of debt services her finances.  “The opportunity cost of current debit service provision for the economy is very high,” he said.

    Yusuf however, identified the drop in oil revenue as a contributory factor to the high deficit in the budget. He said the immediate implication is that the level of borrowing domestically and externally has increased, and this also has implications for debt service burden.

    He maintained that due to increased borrowing, the impact of the reduction in oil revenue has been mitigated.

    While commending the expected increase in efficiency and reduction in leakages in the management of government finances, the LCCI boss observed that the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) has also boosted government revenues. He expressed hope that the conglomeration of the targeted policies of government will make up for the shortfall in oil revenue.

    His words: “There is need for an appropriate economic policy framework that could inspire investors’ confidence. Private capital is crucial to the progress and diversification of the economy.  Only the right mix of policies would make this happen.

    “There is a need to urgently address the policy shortcomings in the foreign exchange management; undertake urgent reforms in the petroleum downstream sector; review existing trade policies and promote investment friendly tax policy.”

    Also, the President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Frank Udemba Jacobs, said the budget would make appreciable impact on the economy if thoroughly implemented. He also commended the huge allocation made to infrastructure. According to him, poor infrastructure remained the bane of the economic development of the country, as the private sector has remained uncompetitive.

    On the allocation to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the MAN president said the figure is adequate, adding that what they do is trade promotions, exhibitions and nothing more.

    Dr. Jacobs however, said the removal or reduction of N17 billion by the National Assembly did not make any appreciable difference. The approved N6.06 trillion budget for 2016 was an increase over last year’s N5trillion budget. Under the current dispensation, government budgeted a total of N1.36 trillion to debt servicing while allocating over N16, 296,622,303 billion to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

  • SON, MAN step up campaign for made-in-Nigeria goods

    SON, MAN step up campaign for made-in-Nigeria goods

    The growing concerns for the patronage of made-in- Nigeria products under the present administration has seen a renewed vigour on the part of regulatory bodies, namely: the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria [MAN] to achieve that laudable objective.

    Justifying the need for the synergy of cooperation, the Acting Director-General of SON, Dr. Paul Angya, while addressing news men in Lagos, said, Nigeria has for long been operating what could be termed a “a cargo economy” that is, mainly import- dependent system whereby the country has been spending billions of dollars at the foreign exchange market just to import goods and services from other nations across the world.

    Angya who noted that the high rate of consumption of foreign products by end-users and consumers has become so chronic that anything tagged: ‘made-in-Nigeria’ is already dead on arrival at the local market.

    SON, he said, is expected to ensure compliance via monitoring and enforcement of standards. Insiders within the agency disclosed that the job has never been easy especially given the vastness of the country, coupled with the desperation of economic saboteurs, importers of fake and sub-standard products and other sharp practices within the system.

    To this end, the SON boss said he has given notice to importers of products that are available locally to look for something else to do or pack up, maintaining that the country could no longer afford to be a dumping site for all manner of imported products which in turn kill local industries.

    According to Engr. Bede Obayi, Head, SON’s Inspectorate and Compliance Directorate, 80 percent of sub-standard products circulating in Nigeria are imported ones.

    The agency has therefore continued to beam search light on imported materials. It recently launched its operations into a single window known as Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System [NICIS] for effective monitoring of all products billed for Nigeria from overseas.

    “We gathered that the integration of SON’s e-certificates and services into the NICIS for processing SONCAP, Form “M” and Pre-Arrival Assessment Report [PAAR] would facilitate trade and block leakages. Based on the scheme, all importers are required to key into the system for seamless importation. The agency has therefore drawn up a programme to train operators in the maritime, airports and land borders on how to access the electronic device.”

    Winning the “Buy Nigeria” campaign indeed requires the concerted efforts of all stakeholders, public, private sectors including SMEs, manufacturers, importers, exporters, chambers of commerce, business community as well as governmental and non-governmental bodies.

    According to the president, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria [MAN], Dr. Frank Jacobs Udemba through the instrumentality of SON regulatory regimes, the manufacturing sector of the economy has since stepped up its operations to ensuring that made in Nigeria products adhere to global best practices.

    The media has been awash with reports of how some local manufacturers have since resorted to shipping their products to other countries only to label and bring them into Nigeria as imported ones in order to attract patronage. For instance, made-in-Aba shoes are said to be among the affected products that migrate out of Nigeria only to resurface with foreign labels.

  • Sterling Bank, MAN promote manufacturing

    Sterling Bank Plc is partnering the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to create more business opportunities for local manufacturers. The partnership is coming ahead of the maiden Manufacturing Expo holding this week in Lagos.

    The bank’s Executive Director, Abubakar Suleiman, said the lender has been looking at ways of promoting the real sector development including empowering entrepreneurs.

    “We are looking at people who want to do business in Nigeria. We want to work with people who produce locally because that is where the business and government is focusing,” he said during a press briefing to announce the expo in Lagos.

    The bank, he said, was always willing to actively participate in initiatives that will encourage local manufacturers and other entrepreneurs as they are key to the industrial resurgence of the country.

    Suleiman emphasised that the prevailing harsh economic climate in the country, especially the scarcity of foreign exchange, had made it imperative for organisations to assist the government in promoting local production of goods and services.

    He pointed out that the expo will provide local manufacturers a platform to network and learn new ways of increasing productivity.

    According to him, “the worst thing you can do is to throw money at the manufacturing sector”. “The fundamental thing is for entrepreneurs to have specific knowledge that will help them to grow their business. They should know about governments’ policies and how these affect them,” he added.

    He further explained that the bank was sponsoring the expo because it believed the event will help increase the demand for locally produced goods.

    MAN Director, Corporate Affairs, Oluwasegun Oshodipe, said the group is confident that the partnership with the bank will deepen the real sector development, saying that manufacturers still face daunting challenges, including poor electricity supply and other infrastructure.

  • Manufacturers lobby CBN for forex

    Manufacturers lobby CBN for forex

    The pressure from foreign exchange scarcity on the real sector, has prompted the leadership of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to approach the Central Bank to consider  direct sale of dollars to its members.

    If approved, the measure would require  the apex bank by-passing the commercial lenders by selling foreign-currency directly to the end users as a last ditch effort to keep the manufacturing firms afloat and safeguard  jobs in the system .

    The Nation learnt that MAN, which has about 2,700 members, proposed weekly auctions of dollars to manufacturing businesses at a meeting with CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele in Abuja, the capital, during the week of February 22, according to Ali Madugu, a Vice President at the lobby group.

    “We’re calling for the central bank to start giving to us directly, hand-to-hand, rather than through the banks,” Madugu, who is also managing director of Kano-based Dala Foods Ltd., a food processor, said in an interview in the northern Nigerian city on March 3. “Some of our member companies will run out of raw materials next month. Without restocking, what will happen? Thousands of jobs are on the line.”

    Nigeria, which derives about two-thirds of government revenue from oil, has rationed dollars and brought interbank foreign-exchange trading to a halt since February last year in a bid to prevent the naira falling. The measures have all but pegged the currency at 197-199 per dollar. As dollars have become more scarce, the black-market exchange rate has plummeted to 310, while forwards prices suggest the naira will fall to 291 in a year.

    The International Monetary Fund estimates the economy grew 3 percent in 2015, the slowest pace since 1999. Manufacturing is in recession, having declined during the first three quarters of the year. President Muhammadu Buhari and Emefiele have said that boosting employment in the manufacturing sector is crucial to reviving Nigeria’s growth.

    Under the current system, the central bank sells foreign exchange to commercial lenders who then distribute it to their customers. That’s left manufacturers short since the banks often prioritize other businesses and individuals, Madugu said. The MAN hopes to receive a response from the central bank this week, he said.

    “The banks have everybody as their customers,” Madugu said. “They even have people buying dollars for medical bills and school fees. If the central bank believes the economy must be diversified and manufacturing boosted, they should allocate directly to us.

  • Man remanded for ‘stabbing’ mum to death

    An Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s Court in Lagos, on Friday, ordered a 30-year old man, Ibrahim Oniyide, to be remanded in prison for allegedly stabbing his mother to death.

    Chief Magistrate B.O Ope-Agbe ordered that the accused be remanded in Ikoyi Prisons, pending the release of legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).

    Oniyide is facing a-count charge of murder.

    His plea was not taken.

    Prosecuting Sergeant Jimah Iseghede told the court that the offence was committed on February 5 at about noon on 3, Olubunmi Christopher Street, Abule-Egba, Lagos.

    He alleged that the accused stabbed his mother, Taiwo Oniyide, 50, to death with a kitchen knife.

    The prosecutor said the accused had a disagreement with his mother and stabbed her to death in annoyance.

    Iseghede said the offence contravened Sections 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

    The case has been adjourned to March 8, pending legal advice from the DPP.

  • Wailing as man allegedly stabbed to death by lawyer-wife is laid to rest

    Relations, friends and associates of Adebayo Oyelowo Oyediran Ajanaku allegedly stabbed to death by his lawyer-wife, Yewande, in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Friday wept uncontrollably as his remains were interred in his hometown, Gbongan, in Ayedade Local Government Area of Osun State.

    Lowo, as he was popularly called was allegedly killed on February 2, 2016 by his wife after a dispute at their residence in Akobo area of Ibadan.

    On sighting the hearse bearing the white casket of the deceased at St. Paul’s Cathedral Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Oke Osun Diocese, Gbongan, many in attendance at the funeral service burst into tears.

    Many of the deceased”s family members, relations and friends, who were wearing black customised T-Shirts with the pictures of Lowo and inscription tagged “Justice4Lowo,” launched into emotions asking the deceased to avenge his gruesome death.

    At the end of the funeral service, his body was lowered into the grave at St Paul’s Cathedral cemetery along Gbongan-Osogbo road.

    Among those in attendance at the church service were the deceased’s business partner simply called Mr. Mikkel; wife of the Olufi of Gbongan, Dr. (Mrs) Magret Ronke Oyeniyi; Professor Tunde Makanju; Justice Bolarinwa Babalakin, who was represented by his personal assistant, members of Gbongan Progressive Union, among others.

    In a sermon entitled “The Greatest Question of Life”, by the Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Oke Osun Diocese, Gbongan,  Venerable Paul. O. Farotimi, the deceased’s family members were advised to take solace in God.

    The cleric said: “Life is a cycle. Life is a stage, we all play our part and leave the stage. Lowo left the stage when the ovation was the loudest. He left as a hero. There are many questions in this life that remained unanswered. Since this unfortunate incident, we have asked the question why his wife killed him. Why did he go back and sleep in the house after the quarrel had been settled.”

    The cleric went further to ask the Ajanaku family to immortalise the name of Oyelowo so that generations yet unborn would know him and his far- reaching impacts.

    The cleric added: “The death of Lowo tells us that we can die at anytime, anywhere and anyhow. We have to prepare to meet our saviour. Situations like this should make us think about our life.”

  • Man arrested for killing wife’s lover

    Man arrested for killing wife’s lover

    A middle aged man, Moses Alugo has been arrested by men of the Ondo state police command over the alleged murder of his wife’s lover.

    Alugo was said to have warned the deceased to desist from sleeping with his wife, before he finally took law into his hands.

    The incident which occurred in Ode Aye in Okitipupa local government area of Ondo State threw the community in pandemonium.

    It was gathered that the deceased had been buried by some villagers at Akinpelu camp, Ode-Aye before the information got to the police.

    The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Femi Joseph who confirmed the incident said members of the community quickly buried the deceased before the police could get to the place.

    The Police Image-maker said the case has been transferred to the state CID for further investigation.

    He described the incident as unfortunate and warned the people against taken laws into their hands.

  • Man ‘beheads’ niece in Ondo

    A 42-year-old man, Samuel Omosaba, has been arrested by the police for allegedly beheading his three-year-old niece on Tuesday at Ilepa quarters in Ikare-Akoko, Akoko North East Local Government Area of Ondo State.

    The suspect, who is jobless and single, was said to have contacted an herbalist in Ipe-Akoko for blood money. He was told to look for a baby’s head.

    It was gathered that the girl was always in her grandmother’s care, whenever her mother, Bunmi, a trader, was going to the market.

    An eyewitness said: “On Tuesday, Bunmi took her daughter to her mother-in-law but met her husband’s elder brother at home. He promised to take care of the child, until her grandmother returns.

    “On her return from the market, Bunmi met her daughter’s body in her brother-in-law’s room.

    “The suspect ‘confessed’ to family members that he killed the girl. He was nearly lynched by aggrieved youths before the police rescued him.”

    Police spokesman Femi Joseph said the matter had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigative Department (CID), Akure.

  • MAN seeks foreign investors for growth

    MAN seeks foreign investors for growth

    The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has called for massive investment in the manufacturing sector to take the sector to the next level.

    MAN is set to collaborate with more foreign investors to actualise the dream.

    Its President, Dr Frank Jacobs said the expected investment should come from two fronts, adding that the investment will assist local investors to expand their existing businesses through the various policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Bank of Industry (BoI).

    He said MAN is collaborating with foreign investors who will want to take advantage of new government policies and the nation’s investment climate to invest in the country, stressing that members of the association are ready to move into new areas of manufacturing through such partnership.

    Jacobs said the country is full of business opportunities that investors can tap into to offset the current economic crunch in the country.

    He said MAN’s experience last year was the most difficult due to the fact that government attention was not properly given to local manufacturers as a result of electioneering activities.

    He urged the government to focus on the manufacturing sector this year to improve the nation’s economy stressing that members of the association would work with government to boost the real sector/manufacturing and agriculture.

    He added that the nation has a lot of unexploited business prospect ranging from solid minerals exploitation to agro-allied and others to tap into, to create employment opportunities for Nigerians.

    On the new electricity tariff, he said the implementation of the new tariff would force some manufacturers out of business, stressing that not all the manufacturers can afford to set up a power plant, as many today are using power from the grid for production together with generators.

    The MAN boss said the situation is appalling for manufacturers as the 45 per cent increase in tariff translates to the closure of the few existing manufacturing outfits as many them have even been forced out of business in the last 10 years, due to inadequate power supply.

    He said despite the removal of fixed charges by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), manufacturers are still groaning under huge cost of accessing electricity for production activities.

    He called on NERC to review the new tariff to save the consumers and the Organised Private Sector (OPS) from unnecessary high charges.

    The manufacturers’boss said the new tariff would result in loss of jobs by many Nigerians as many companies would be forced out of businesses when the new tariff is implemented.

  • Man nabbed for ‘robbing’ pastor

    Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives on Saturday arrested a 25-year-old man, Paul Bassey, for allegedly robbing a pastor.

    Bassey was arrested around 6am near Victoria Garden City (VGC) on the Lekki-Epe expressway.

    He was said to have held Pastor David Oriaki, who gave him a ride, hostage in the cleric’s car.

    It was gathered that on entering the car, Bassey allegedly pointed a gun at the pastor, telling him the routes to take.

    But Oriaki told The Nation that on sighting the RRS after the toll gate, he marched the brake, diverted his vehicle and shouted for help.

    “It was around 6am on Saturday. The young man entered my car around VGC round about and the next thing; he pointed a gun at me. He asked me to drive towards a particular direction.

    “But by that time I have put my car on the E-tag at the toll gate. I was hoping I will see those policemen that are usually not far from there. The barricade was not opening and so, he told me to reverse my car. As I was about to reverse, the barricade opened and he told me to drive straight.

    “I was just praying and trying to buy time. I was driving fast too and he told me to make a U-turn but I told him I cannot just be turning like that especially on the speed I was driving.

    “At this point, he has searched me, collected my phone and money and was still pointing his gun at me.

    “Eventually along the road, I sighted some RRS operatives from a distance. I just slammed my brakes and diverted towards them. I hurriedly ran out of the car and screamed for help.

    “He did not see them initially. When I ran out, he wanted to pursue me. Then, he saw them and escaped but they immediately chased him.

    “Two RRS vehicles pursued him. One of them was marked 187, I do not know the number on the other one. He crossed the road and they chased him and caught him.

    “I am really impressed by the actions of the officers. They were very responsive and saved me from the criminal,” he said.

    The Nation gathered that the suspect is being held at the Special Anti-Robbery Sqaud (SARS) Headquarters in Ikeja.