The Vice Chairman of Basic Metal Sector of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Lekan Adewoye, has described the new CBN policy directive removing the restriction on foreign exchange (FX) access to 43 items for imports as undesirable for struggling manufacturing industry businesses.
The industrialist made this remarks during an interview on TVC Business as he spoke on the position of manufacturers on the latest policy by the apex bank.
Rather than adopting a holistic option in lifting the FX ban on the affected items, Adewoye pointed out that the CBN should have considered the implications of the policy for Nigerian manufacturing companies producing the items, particularly those that had invested heavily on backward integration.
He said: “For items that can be produced in Nigeria, such manufacturers ought to be encouraged. This directive will further kill the manufacturing industry that is already struggling to survive.
“Some of our members who have outrightly invested in backward integration will now start to regret this move, because everyone who can assess forex will claim to be an importer, forcing sincere manufacturers to close shop and increasing the numbers of jobless persons.
“Maybe we have one or two items on that list that are of national importance, I don’t know but not saying that all the 43 items should be allowed to come into the country. Because those who have invested, what are they going to do with their investment?
“We as manufacturers want the government to do what is necessary because at the end of the day, a lot of manufacturing companies will shut down and when they do, the aftermath effect will be job losses”, the real sector leader added.
On the inability of Nigerian manufacturers to compete with their counterparts in the West African sub-region and globally due to inclement operating environment, Adewoye lamented that players in the real sector had only competitive parity with their sub-regional counterparts and not competitive advantage.
According to him, even the little incentives government has been extending to manufacturers in the country are yielding little or no benefits as the costs of doing business are increasing in the face of surging inflation rate and Naira depreciation.
It would be recalled that last week, the apex bank lifted the ban on access to FX for importation of the 43 items after years of its implementation.
It justified its decision on the need to boost liquidity in the Nigeria Foreign Exchange market and promised to be intervening from “time to time” when there is a scarcity of FX in the market.
