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Tag: Manufacturers Association of Nigeria

  • MAN seeks harmonisation of regulatory responsibilities in petroleum sector

    Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has urged regulatory agencies in the petroleum industry to clearly define and harmonise their responsibilities to enhance sustainable economic growth.
    Dr Okey Akpa, Chairman, Petroleum Product Sectoral Group of MAN gave the advice during interactive session among regulatory agencies on Thursday in Lagos.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the session was organised by MAN in collaboration with National Environmental Standards Regulatory and Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA).
    Akpa said the Group had been receiving increasing complaints from its members bordering on regulations, monitoring and compliance.
    “We are making this appeal to ensure that operators are not over burdened with the same regulatory requirements from different agencies,” he said.
    According to him, there is an increasing overlapping function of regulatory agencies and this is hindering operations and growth in the industry.
    Also, Adesoji Fagbemi, Sub-group chairman of the Petroleum Product Sectoral Group,noted that there were too many requirements regarding engaging consultants approved only by agencies, thus leading to duplication of costs.
    Dr Lawrence Anukam, Chief Executive Officer, NESREA, said that the agency was conscious  of concern raised by manufacturers and was exploring ways to collaborate with other stakeholders to address the issues raised.
    Anukam said that activities of the agency focused on protection of the environment by ensuring that manufacturers did the right thing in the area of waste disposal into the environment.
    Also, Director-General of NOSDRA, Peter Idabor, said that the agency was established in 2006 as an institutional framework to coordinate the implementation of the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) for Nigeria.
    He said that the plan was in accordance with the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation (OPRC 90) to which Nigeria was a signatory.
    Idabor, who was represented by Daniel Okoromu of the Lagos Zonal Office of NOSDRA,  said that the agency had been “intensely occupied“ with ensuring compliance with environment legislation in the petroleum sector in the downstream, midstream and upstream sector.
    Idabor said that the agency would beam searchlight on the retail end of the downstream sector, by monitoring spills across many fuel stations. (NAN)

  • Lull in steel, foundry sectors affecting SMEs, says MAN

    The inactivity being experienced in the nation’s steel and foundry sectors of the economy is having a rippled negative effect on small businesses, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has said.

    The President of MAN, Frank-Jacobs Udemba, who disclosed this in Lagos last Wednesday while addressing a press conference ahead of the forthcoming 46th Annual General Meeting of the association, noted that some members have retrenched their employees even as many of such firms have gone moribund with sundry businesses across the value chain badly affected.

    Udemba attributed the problem to lack of patronage, saying that government which is the biggest consumer of iron and steel as a result of its construction activities has withdrawn its patronage, thereby throwing the sector into crisis.

    He said that amidst the economic tragedy, the food and beverage sector is doing well, regretting that the country would likely slip into recession if infrastructure and cost of funds were not addressed.

    The MAN boss, who hinted that the 46th Annual General Meeting/3rd Manufacturers Annual Lecture scheduled to hold in Lagos, will provide an opportunity for interactions between the stakeholders in the manufacturing sector and review of the state of the nation’s economy.

    “The National Council of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has scheduled the 46th Annual General Meeting and Manufacturers Annual lecture/Presidential Luncheon for the 26th & 27th September 2018 at Lagos Oriental Hotel, Lekki Road, Victoria Island, Lagos at 11:00 am respectively.”

    He noted that there would be an evening session, which will focus on “Port Infrastructure and Access to Credit” with the following panel of discussants: Managing Director of Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Managing Director of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Executive Secretary/CEO of Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC), Managing Director of Bank of Industry (BOI) and the Managing Director of Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN).

    Udemba stated that the theme for the evening session is: “Promoting Manufacturing through Improved Port Infrastructure and Access to Long-Term Credit Windows.”

    He said, “The theme for the Manufacturers Annual Lecture/Presidential Luncheon is “Mainstreaming Policies to Catalyse Industrial Renaissance” and our choice of the theme was borne out of the need to appraise the performance of industrial policy initiatives, with a view to ensuring that they are positively aligned to the industrial aspirations and overall economic development agenda of the nation.”

  • MAN: manufacturing value rises

    The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has given a pass mark to some government policies relating to the real sector.

    MAN in its review of the second quarter (Q2) 2018 stated that the value of manufacturing production in the second half of 2017 was N5.03 trillion, as against N5.02 trillion recorded in the corresponding half of 2016, indicating a N0.01 trillion increase over the period.

    The Association attributed the sector’s positive performance in 2017 to the relative stability in the foreign exchange (forex) market and improvement in the ease of doing business in the economy within the review period including local raw-materials utilisation.

    Analysing the industrial zones, MAN said capacity utilisation increased in Ogun, Apapa, Ikeja (Lagos), Edo, Delta, Imo and Abia states. Others are Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Kano Bompai, and Kwara, Kogi industrial zones.

    A statement, which was signed by the President of MAN, Dr. Frank Udemba Jacobs, revealed that capacity utilisation in Ogun zone increased marginally to 68.7 per cent in the period under review, from 68.0 per cent recorded in the corresponding half of 2016, indicating 0.7 percentage increase.

    On the other hand, Ikeja zone increased to 63.2 pe rcent in the second half of 2017, from 61.3 per cent recorded in the corresponding half of 2016, indicating 1.9 percentage point increase over the period. Apapa zone recorded an increase from 54 per cent to 70.7.

    The analysis, based on sectoral groups, showed that capacity utilisation increased in textile, apparel & footwear sectoral group, non-metallic mineral products, electrical & electronics and basic metal, iron & steel sectoral groups in the review period.

    Jacobs, however, said inadequate and high interest rate remained major challenges to the manufacturing sector in the period under review.

    “A survey of manufacturers by MAN showed that cost of lending to the manufacturing sector stood at 23.05 per cent in the second half of 2017, which is almost the same figure with 23.3 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2016,” he said.

    According to Jacobs, in terms of import trade, China ranked first amongst Nigeria’s import trade partners with import trade value of N465.13 billion. Behind China was Belgium with N191.05 billion import commodities, while United States ranked third with N189.36 billion worth of imports.

    He said India maintained her position as the dominant Nigerian export trade partner with an export trade of N615.39 billion. He explained that United States trailed India with exports valued at N505.22 billion, followed by The Netherland on third position with export trade of N412.86 billion in the quarter.

    Furthermore, Jacobs disclosed that Foreign Private Investment (FPI) increased to $3.48 billion, from $0.284 billion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2016, indicating $3.193 billion.

    He stressed that the foreign investment inflow was as a result of the return of relative tranquility in the forex market in the year.

    The MAN chief also observed that non-oil output grew by 1.45 per cent as against 0.33 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2016 thus indicating 1.78 percentage point increase over the period, while the nation’s public debt profiles surged upward.

    According to MAN, external debt increased to $18.91 billion, from $11.41 billion, while domestic debt also increased to N12.59 trillion.

  • Manufacturers canvass protection for products

    Despite the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) trade liberalisation policy and other conventions to ensure free trade in the sub-region, there is a need for Nigeria to protect products.

    Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) President Dr. Frank Udemba Jacobs canvassed this position at the unveiling of Oxytocin injection manufactured by an indigenous pharmaceutical firm, Juhel Nigeria Limited, which he described as the first of its kind in Africa.

    He said the country owed it to itself to protect exclusive industries producing products that have intrinsic quality, irrespective of ECOWAS conventions, such as the Common External Tariff (CET) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. He said this was necessary to protect jobs and grow the economy.

    Noting the high rate of maternal mortality in the country, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) said was the fourth-highest globally, Jacobs said the drug Oxytocin and magnesium sulphate were to deal with it. He called on policymakers, regulatory bodies and financial institutions to support the company to preserve lives.

    Juhel Nigeria Limited Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Ifeanyi Okoye regretted that Nigeria has assumed the unenviable position of fourth highest maternal death rate in the world, accounting for 19 per cent of 830 global maternal deaths daily.

    He said Oxytocin was a safe and potent drug to treat Post-Partum Hemorrhage (PPH). He regretted that despite the availability of imported varieties, the rate and frequency of PPH and, consequently,  maternal deaths were still very high.

    Okoye said a study by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), United States Pharmacopeia (USP), and National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), carried out in 2016, indicated that 74.2 per cent of Oxytocin in circulation failed quality laboratory evaluation.

    Of every four imported brands, Okoye said three were fake. He said the high rate of sub-standardisation was as a result of the imported brands not having the right or stated amount of Active Pharmaceutical ingredient (API) or transported and distributed under unfavorable conditions.

    He said: “Some of the imported brands, overtime, cannot have their quality sustained because Oxytocin injection, which must be stored between two and eight degrees Celsius, may be exposed to negative conditions at the point of entry.

    “Furthermore, lack of manpower by exporting companies to monitor post sales activities can only ensue gradual loss of potency and degradation.”

    He pledged his company’s preparedness to check the cloning of its products. Also, the company, he said, has in place criteria for supplying to teaching hospitals and distributors. One of the criteria is that there must be storage facility and chillers that meet international standards. He said the company has the capacity to produce for the sub-region.

    NAtional Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Director-General Prof Moji Christiana Adeyeye said the agency had carried out market surveys to ensure that there was no fake Oxytocin in the market. He noted that whenever there was infringement, NAFDAC would evacuate and destroy such to protect the lives.

    MAN Pharmaceutical Group Chairman, Dr. Okechukwu Akpa, called for medicine security, warning on the dangers of unbridled importation especially of pharmaceutical products into the country.

    He said that a lot of challenges are encountered in product handling and storage and called on the government to come out with a protectionist policy and financing for indigenous manufacturing.

    A renowned gynaecologist and obstetrician, Professor Osato F. Giwa-Osagie, commended the company for the feat in reducing maternal mortality through their novel product.

    He urged NAFDAC and other relevant government agencies, including pharmacists, to protect indigenous pharmaceutical manufacturers from merchants of fake and adulterated pharmaceuticals.

    Giwa-Osagie said: NAFDAC and pharmacists should go round and pick the fake alternatives from chemists by evaluation and supervision including on the spot check of  the products.”

  • MAN seeks downward review of environmental development levy

    The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has appealed to the Lagos State Government to review downward the over 150 per cent increment in the Environmental Development Levy and Petroleum Permit payable to the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA).

    Its Ikeja branch Chairman, Otunba Francis Meshioye, made the appeal at the association’s 10th edition of Managing Directors/Chief Executive Officers breakfast meeting in Lagos.

    The meeting is a yearly event, which provides a veritable platform for effective interactions among over 300 chief executives on the economic challenges that threaten the survival of the manufacturing sector and also helps proffer ways to mitigate the threats.

    The theme of this year’s edition was “The manufacturing sector: Current Issues and strategic options.” Its special emphasis was on “The Impact of legislation, regulations and policies on the ease of doing business in Nigeria.”

    At the meeting, Meshioye called on the government to harmonise the periodic environmental audit report review to three years as done by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA).

    He lamented that LASEPA’s biennial review of the environmental audit report as against NESREA’s three years review was at a huge cost to manufacturers.

    He said the various reviews would enhance the ease of doing business in the state and provide an enabling environment for industries to thrive and create jobs.

    The chair also called on the state government to fast-track the process and procedural guidelines of waste collection from manufacturers as being driven by the Cleaner Lagos Initiative.

    Meshioye noted that though the economy exited recession last year, as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 0.55 per cent in the second quarter of last year, manufacturers in Lagos were battling with numerous challenges.

    He listed some of them to include the expansion of taxes, levies and fees payable to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) without consultation with stakeholders; the difficulties created by the bureaucratic bottlenecks in the implementation of the harmonised inspection of workplaces as approved by the state governor in October 2016.

    While pointing out, for instance, that the introduction of the Stage Carriage Permit by the Ministry of Transport was done without consultation with stakeholders, Meshioye also said the gridlock at the corridors of the seaports was a challenge to manufacturers.

    According to him, other issues agitating the minds of manufacturers, which they want the state government to look into, include the poor road networks within the industrial estates, the resolution of issues raised with regards to the 2018 Land Use Charge as well as the need to enshrine the patronage of made in Nigeria products in the state’s procurement policy.

    In his address at the event, the MAN President, Dr. Frank Udemba Jacobs, pointed out that the upward review of the land use charge “has further compounded the woes of manufacturers who are already at the verge of collapse on the weight of high operating cost’’.

    Jocobs,represented by the association’s Council member,  Reginald Odiah, also said manufacturers were being harassed by the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commixssion over non-payment of water abstraction.

    He said this was despite that the matter was still being discussed at the highest level of government in the state.

    Governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, represented by the Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, promised to look into the issues raised by manufacturers in the state.

    “We will continue to look into your challenges and proffer solutions,” he added.

  • AfCFTA: MAN urges FG to examine trade conditions

    The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria ( MAN ), has urged the Federal Government to renegotiate trade conditions that will impede economic growth in its review of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area ( AfCFTA ) Agreement.

    The MAN President, Dr Frank Jacob, gave the advice in an interview with the News men on Tuesday in Lagos.

    According to him, MAN is apprehensive that the Rules of Origin in the AfCFTA cannot be adequately enforced to guard against influx of European Union ( EU ) goods into the Nigerian market.

    The Rules of origin are used to determine the country of origin of a product for purposes of international trade.

    The News men reports that the AfCFTA is part of Africa’s plan to promote Intra and Inter-regional trade, economic cooperation and partnership on the continent by 2063.

    AfCFTA seeks to make Africa the largest free trade area, improve its economies and strengthen its position in global trade.

    “We are afraid that the Rules of Origin cannot be adequately enforced because goods from the EU can find their way into one of the African countries that have bilateral agreement with the EU.

    “When the goods get into the African country, they can repackage them, change the label from Made in Europe to that of the African country.

    “That same goods will surely find its way to Nigeria which is the main target market for the EU,” Jacob said.

    Jacob also noted that the market access of the agreement was a concern to manufacturers, as it leaves low protection to locally produced goods.

    “The agreement says that 90 per cent of the tariff plan would be liberalised, leaving only 10 per cent to protect manufacturers, and that 10 per cent is too low.

    “That means the rest of the 90 per cent is open, duty free, people can import.

    Read Also:  FEC okays agreement on African Free Trade in Kigali

    “What we are saying is that the 10 per cent is too small, even at the current Common External Tariff ( CET ) regime, we enjoy more than 10 per cent.

    “How can they now expect us to accept only 10 per cent as the only protected tariff line. That is an area that is of great concern to us,” Jacob said.

    He noted that the AfCFTA would impede the growth of the manufacturing sector, lead to dearth of many businesses, increase the country’s unemployment rate, and incapacitate local technological advancement.

    The MAN boss commended President Muhammadu Buhari for canceling his scheduled trip to Kigali, Rwanda, to sign the framework agreement for establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area.

    Buhari on March 18, canceled his scheduled visit to Rwanda to attend an Extra-Ordinary Summit of the African Union on March 21.

    The President was to sign the framework agreement for establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area during the Summit that would host leaders of African countries.

    According to a statement from the Presidency, the trip was canceled to allow for more consultations with stakeholders in Nigeria over the trade agreement.

    It would be recalled that the Nigerian Labour Congress ( NLC ) and the Organised Private Sector ( OPS ) had kicked against AfCFTA.

    NAN

  • MAN cautions on tomato paste importation

    MAN cautions on tomato paste importation

    Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has urged the Federal Government to protect the huge investments by local firms in tomato production by reducing the importation of concentrated tomato paste.

    Its President, Dr. Frank Jacobs, at a media forum, insisted that the government, through its tomato policy, must regulate the massive importation of concentrated tomato paste, which is killing local industries producing tomato paste.

    According to him, there is a need for the government to check the continued importation of concentrated tomato paste into the country and enhance its local production.

    Jacobs said despite the government’s backing for local tomato paste manufacturing firms, all is not yet well with the industry in terms of stability and conducive environment.

    He noted that importers of concentrated tomato paste still spent billions of naira yearly on the commodity through the seaports and land borders.

    “The issue of tomato has been on for a long time. Members in the sub-sector have invested heavily in the industry. They have made representations through the MAN on ways to protect their industries. I believe that most of the imports you are talking about are not the finished tomato paste, but rather, the concentrate ones,” Jacobs said, adding: “If they are the concentrate ones, then those people that import them are expected to pay some levies. Paying the levy is to balance against those people that have gone into backward integration and, therefore, producing their own tomato concentrates here. Unfortunately, the yield of tomato last year was not very good and that resulted in lack of enough tomato in the country. So, it’s a very difficult situation now.”

    He continued: “But I think what we have been doing in MAN is to continue working with those operators and government policy makers to see how we can balance the situation so that we cannot starve Nigerians of tomato consumption. They have to eat tomato and since we cannot produce enough in the country, people would be allowed to import concentrate, even though they will pay levies for importing them. But at the end of the day, we want to make sure that the operators are doing well and also the consumers that will eat it are seeing it in the market.”

    Speaking further, the MAN boss said despite the availability of land suitable for the cultivation of tomato in the country, it is appalling that foreign tomato paste still find its way into the country.

    Jacobs bemoaned the on-going challenges facing the local manufacturers of tomato paste, adding that apart from the environmental and industrial challenges, the issue of mass importation of the product into the country is the most critical thing affecting tomato development in Nigeria.

    The MAN boss explained that Dangote Group of Industries, Erisco Foods Limited and Savannah Tomato Limited, which are into manufacturing of tomato paste, are groaning over paste importation and non-availability of tomato.

    He also explained that governthe ment needs to further increase tariff on tomato paste importation, as the 60 per cent import duty and $1,500 per ton levy are not enough to deter the continued importation of tomato paste into Nigeria.

    Jacobs said Nigeria is the second largest producer of tomato in Africa and 13th in the world. “Sadly, about 750,000 of the tomatoes harvested in Nigeria go to waste as a result of poor Food Supply Chain (FSC) management, price instability and the supply preference of farmers and middlemen for urban markets than processors due to low farm gate prices,” Jacobs said.

    He added that “importers still spend N11.7 billion yearly on the importation of tomato paste into Nigeria, which is worrisome”, urging the Federal Government to grant indigenous manufacturers special window to backwardly integrate, saying that they should also be granted access to foreign exchange (forex) for tomato development.

  • MAN advocates synthesis of monetary,fiscal policies

    The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has canvassed the need to sustain the expansionary policy stance of the current administration while ensuring sufficient synthesis of monetary and fiscal policies.  The association asked that lending rates should be moderated through development banks, financial windows while taxes and levies should either drop or remain unchanged, and appropriate incentives that will encourage investments created.

    MAN president, Dr. Frank Udemba Jacobs who spoke to The Nation in Lagos attributed the poor performance of the sector to high cost of doing business, especially high interest rate as well as delays in the implementation of the budget during the year. He therefore called for the recapitalisation of the Bank of Industry (BOI) and the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN).

    He revealed that the manufacturing sector in the second quarter of 2017 fell to 0.64 per cent and 2.58 per cent in the third quarter of the year an indication that the sector may be drifting back into economic recession.

    He called for the downward review  of the Company Income Tax (CIT) from the current 30 per cent to about 20 per cent with targets for employment of Nigerians to technically reflect the prevailing operating environment and economic situation of the country.

    The MAN boss further revealed that the improvement in foreign exchange management policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),  by making allocation to the manufacturing sector a priority  has robbed off positively on them  and  improved the sector’s successes.  He however, attributed the positive outlook of the sector to the improved relationship between the two.

    He said: “Our robust engagement with the management of the Central Bank of Nigeria also led to the review of the list of 41 items not valid for official forex allocation.

    claimed that MAN’s advocacy helped to facilitate the resuscitation of Export Expansion Grant (EEG) and the modification of the same to include transferability of the Negotiable Export Credit Certificate (NECC), which can now be used for settlement of all Federal Government taxes such as Company Income Tax, Value Added Tax (VAT) and With Holding Tax (WHT), among others.

    Jacobs said the Association will ensure the remaining raw materials excluded from the official forex window are restored, maintain the advocacy against the admission of Morocco to the membership of ECOWAS due to perceived negative implications of this to the economy of Nigeria and ensure greater improvement in the business operating environment.

    He called for the abolition of multiple taxation and its unorthodox mode of collection by the three tiers of government, enactment of relevant manufacturing-friendly laws and abrogation of adverse and obsolete business related legislations; encouragement of  the sustenance of the campaign for patronage of Made-in-Nigeria products and  sustaining advocacy for sector-specific incentives for national economic development.

     

  • Relief, as stakeholders endorse SON ACT 14, 2015 in Kano … seek increased collaboration

    Relief, as stakeholders endorse SON ACT 14, 2015 in Kano … seek increased collaboration

    In continuation of its quest to boost public awareness and support for the campaign against substandard products in the country, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) recently took its nationwide sensitization exercise on the SON Act to Kano.

    The objective of this, according to the Director General of SON, Mr. Osita Aboloma, was to increase consumers’ awareness on the Act and how it would impact on  the organization’s pursuit of its mandate and  on businesses, and generally on Nigerians. Indeed, participants at the forum, which had two guest speakers–Alhaji Ali Madugu-Vice President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and a Lecturer from Bayero University, Barrister Usman Muhammad Shu’aib Zunnrain stressed their desire for more collaboration with SON for a mutually beneficial relationship.

    Other dignitaries at the forum which held at the Grand Central hotel, Bompai Road, Kano included the Kano State Commissioner of Police-Rabi’u Yusuf, who was represented by Assistant Commissioner  of Police(ACP) Abubakar Zubair,  representative of the State Commandant of the Nigerian Civil Defence Corp (NCDC)  Chief Superintendent Abdulhamid Kabara, representative of the Director of the  Department of State Security Service (DSS), Alhaji Nasir Ibraheem and the Kano State Coordinator of SON in Kano and Jigawa States-Alhaji Yunusa Mohamme, who represented the Director General, Mr Osita Aboloma

    There were also the Managing Director, S.G International Agencies and Coordinator, Association of Nigerian Licensed Custom Agent (ANCLA)-Alhaji Mohammed Sanusi Wakili, the Chairman, Chosen Cargo Services Nigeria Limited-Sir Patrick Agbato, the Secretary, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Kano-Alhaji Tijani Ahmed and representative of the Nigerian Spinners & Dyers,  Kano- Engineer Haruna Musa of the Department of Mechatronics Engineering,  Bayero University, Kano.

    In his welcome address at the forum with the theme: “SON ACT 14, 2015: The imperative of consumer engagement”, the Director General explained that what  the SON Act was intended to achieve was to halt the prevailing situation where criminals flood the country with substandard products with impunity, largely because the previous laws under which the organization operated did not provide commensurate sanctions to offenders and deserved protection and sufficient power to SON officials. Now that the new laws have provided an enabling environment for the organization, he stated, Nigerians could be rest assured that the menace of substandard products would now be decisively dealt with and culprits instantly reprimanded, ultimately prosecuted and appropriately sanctioned. Aboloma added that faithful Implementation of the new Act would guarantee increased sales to genuine manufacturers and importers who, he noted, are presently shortchanged because of their inability to compete with cheaper substandard products which flood the nation’s markets.

    The DG however disclosed that there are provisions in the Act which manufacturers, importers and other stakeholders and indeed all Nigerians must know so as to ensure necessary sensitization and collaboration in the campaign against substandard products. This imperative, he explained, informed the agency’s sustained stakeholders forum, where SON, sister agencies and other partners, among others, share information and experiences and proffer suggestions on how to win the anti-substandard products battle.

  • Electricity: Manufacturers adopt survival means

    Manufacturers under the auspices of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) have taken their destinies in their hands by providing electricity for their operations. Electricity supply dearth is a common knowledge as the national supply has being adjudged the second poorest in the world second only to Yemen, a war torn country, by Spectatorindex twitter handle.

    In an interview with The Nation, MAN President, Dr Frank Udemba Jacobs,  lamented that for over three decades manufacturers have consistently argued on the need to give the sector special consideration in energy supply without commensurate response from the government.

    He regretted that after advocating improvement in electricity supply to industries for over three decades without respite, his association had no choice but take their destinies in their hands.

    He reiterated MAN’s effort at complementing the government attempt at resolving the huge challenge. He said: “Nigeria has a huge population of over 180 million people based on World Bank figure; huge and thriving manufacturing and other businesses, but delivers about 4000 megawatts (MW) of electricity per day.

    “By the rule of thumb, the quantum of electricity generated in the economy should be at least, 180,000MW per day; that is an average of one megawatt per 1000 persons. Moreover, the World Bank report also indicates that Nigeria’s electricity per capita was 142 kilowatts as at 2013, which is well below the world per capita energy of 3,104.382 kilowatts in the same year. Apart from the dearth of electricity supply to the industries, the quality and constant arbitrary increase in the tariff are also major challenges.”

    Jacobs lamented that electricity supply challenges have become hydra-headed to his association and operations.

    On the way forward, he said his association has resorted to self-generated energy, notwithstanding the huge cost associated with such endeavour. He revealed that in 2016 alone, manufacturers expended over N129.0 billion on alternative energy source, noting that the electricity challenge has been one of the major factors responsible for the poor competitiveness of Nigerian manufactured products as it accounts for over 36 per cent of total cost of production in the sector.

    He, however, commended the Federal Government’s progressive effort at improving electricity supply in the country beginning with the privatisation of the power sector. The government, he said, has also shown commitment to helping the companies in the electricity production chain and solve their huge challenges.

    He lauded the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) N213 billion Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF)  support for electricity companies in addressing their challenges. He, however, regretted that despite the support from the government, power supply remains inadequate for domestic and industrial needs.

    According to him, in the light of the various challenges in the electricity sector, MAN he said, is also making significant efforts at addressing the energy challenges of its members.

    On how far the association has gone in achieving sufficiency in electricity. He said: “ The Manufacturers Power Development Company Limited (MPDCL) was incorporated by MAN to drive improvement of electricity supply to members of the association, especially within the industrial clusters.

    “The MPDCL within the last quarter of 2017, has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with some Independent Power Producers (IPP) and the projects are already at different implementation stages. The Association is also encouraging its members to key into energy efficiency production system.”

    Spectra Industries Limited Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Duro Kuteyi, also urged the Federal Government on the need to have special electricity rate for manufacturers. He criticised a situation where manufacturers are charged high electricity rates, which he said have the capacity to erode their profits and affect their bottom line.

    Responding to the invitation of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola’s invitation to manufacturers to take -up the available 2,000 mega watts excess electricity, he questioned the minister on the modalities and how manufacturers can access it, noting that it can only work where there are manufacturing clusters. He argued that the plan begs the question and will not address it.

    He asked the minister to evolve a novel method of distributing electricity to where needed most so that manufacturers can spend less on electricity supply in their productions.