•Says economic recovery dependent on policy stimulus for manufacturing sector

As a way out of the current economic quagmire in the country, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has, among other recommendations, called on the federal government to channel the savings from the fuel subsidy removal into policies that will boost the productive sector.

Speaking at a media luncheon in Lagos yesterday, MAN President, Francis Meshioye, asserted that “the nation’s economic recovery is highly dependent on the deployment of policy stimulus supported with a synthesis of domestic growth, export focused and offensive trade strategies”.

He added that there is a need to mobilize local resources and more importantly, take deliberate steps to overcome the binding constraints that confront the productive sector.

In order to improve the sector, Meshioye rolled out recommendations from MAN.

These include: “Expend cost saving from fuel subsidy to deploy a bouquet of production focused policies, backed with more structural measures to combat the peculiar inflationary pressures from insecurity, energy and transport cost.

“Overhaul the power sector and incentivise investment in renewable to boost electricity generation and promote energy-cost efficiency.

“Government should lead by example and give priority to patronage of Made-in-Nigeria products in all its purchases and for all government contracts and projects. Government should mandatorily upscale patronage of Made-in-Nigeria products by deliberately reducing the excessive reliance of the country on imported products. “The three tiers of government should enforce the implementation of the Executive Order 003 in their ministries, departments and agencies.

“Government should encourage local sourcing of raw materials through comprehensive and integrated incentives to address the challenges of low productivity and imported inflation.”

He further stated that, “Government should encourage sub-national governments and private investors to leverage the opportunities provided by the Electricity Act 2023 to improve energy security in Nigeria.

“Maintain all measures to boost the level of liquidity and degree of transparency in the official forex window even as the backlog of $7 billion forex obligations is being cleared.

“Manage the floating exchange rate system within an acceptable lower and upper bound, pending the actualization of net-exporting economy aspirations.

“Prioritize forex and credit allocation to the manufacturers and reduce the number of BDCs into large and well-established operators to curb their excesses and untoward operations through effective management and supervision.

“Encourage inflow of foreign direct investment into pre-determined and domestic production-enhancing businesses, and intentionally guide Diaspora remittances into non-oil sectors, especially manufacturing to aid forex inflows and curb rising inflation.”