The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has said that it would be using the opportunity of the 2nd Adeola Odutola Lecture, a major programme of the association’s 50th Annual General Meeting (AGM), to take stakeholders in the real sector of the nation’s economy, on the nation’s industrialisation journey.
The association’s President, Engineer Ahmed Mansur, disclosed this at the media briefing for the AGM, held in Lagos, recently.
He stated that the lecture tagged: ‘An Agenda for Nigeria’s Industrialisation’, was informed by the need to take stock of the nation’s journey to industrialization, ascertain the pains and pain points, highlight the performance limiters, while also recognizing gains and growth milestones.
According to Mansur, this year’s AGM, scheduled to hold between October 17 and 17, this year, in Lagos, would be used to bring to the consciousness of the nation’s aspiring leaders, the importance of having a virile manufacturing sector.
The MAN President stressed the need for government to come up with policies that would aid the growth of the nation’s manufacturing sector.
He expressed regrets that despite the slow growth of the nation’s economy, the country’s policymakers, at all levels had continued to compound the situation by introducing new taxes, further worsening the high-cost operating environment.
“In some climes, when the economy slows down, the government reduces taxes to encourage businesses to expand, create more jobs and increase economic activities.
“But what we are seeing in Nigeria, today is not only increasing tax rate but introducing new taxes and turning every public agency into a revenue-collector,” he stated.
The MAN boss, who will bowing out as the president of the association, after the AGM, added that the decision to feature one of the nation’s foremost industrialists, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, as the Guest Speaker, was to enable stakeholders share on the industrialist’s wealth of experience, as he shares the way forward for manufacturing in the next one decade.
Speaking on the Dangote /Kogi State government face-off, over the cement company’s Obajana Plant, the outgoing MAN’s boss described the action of the state government, through its Inland Revenue Services, as worrisome, and ‘arm-twisting’.
He also described as unfortunate the decision of the state government to use non-state actors to carry out enforcement, for an infraction, allegedly committed, by the cement company, and which was yet to be substantiated in any court of law.
Mansur added that, rather than employing such unconventional method to carry out the enforcement, the state government should have sought legal means that would have allowed it use the state’s security apparatus to carry out the enforcement.
He stated that by taking such drastic action of shutting down a company, the state government would be worsening the nation’s already bad economy; since its action would eventually lead to job losses, especially among residents of the community, employed by the company.
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Manufacturers set to discuss Nigeria’s ‘industrialisation journey’ at MAN 50th AGM
Manufacturers set to discuss Nigeria’s ‘industrialisation journey’ at MAN 50th AGM
and then