The Producers Affiliation of Nigeria (MAN) has referred to as on the Federal Authorities to introduce annual native content material benchmarks for presidency procurement in key sectors resembling vehicles, textiles, prescribed drugs, and agro-processing.
MAN President, Otunba Francis Meshioye, made the attraction in Lagos on Thursday in the course of the fifth Adeola Odutola Lecture and Presidential Luncheon held as a part of the affiliation’s 53rd Annual Basic Assembly (AGM).
He mentioned such a framework would guarantee authorities businesses prioritize Made-in-Nigeria merchandise, stimulate home manufacturing, and strengthen the nation’s industrial base.
Meshioye defined that Nigeria’s manufacturing sector is presently working in “a really difficult atmosphere” worsened by weak enforcement of native patronage insurance policies and continued dependence on imports.
In accordance with him, “It’s unsustainable for Nigeria to proceed subsidising the manufacturing and employment of different nations by unchecked imports whereas our personal factories proceed to file low capability utilization and serial underperformance.”
Name for enforcement and accountability
The MAN President additional urged the federal government to penalise MDAs that fail to satisfy native content material targets and reward people who exceed them. He famous that earlier Government Orders 003 and 005, which sought to advertise native patronage, failed as a result of they lacked clear enforcement mechanisms and penalties for non-compliance.
- Meshioye proposed that the Federal Authorities, by the Ministry of Business, Commerce and Funding (FMITI), ought to launch a Nationwide Made-in-Nigeria Day, in partnership with the Nationwide Orientation Company (NOA), the Organised Non-public Sector of Nigeria (OPSN), and the media.
- The initiative, he mentioned, would assist promote visibility for native merchandise and drive client confidence.
- He additionally advisable that Nigerian-made items be mandated to be used in authorities places of work, embassies, and commerce missions, whereas calling for higher funding and empowerment of the Industrial Revolution Working Group to behave as a coverage engine for industrial reform and innovation.
He emphasised that the ‘Nigeria First’ coverage, which shaped the theme of this 12 months’s AGM “, Nigeria First: Prioritising Patronage of Made in Nigeria” is not only an industrial ambition however a matter of nationwide financial survival.
“We should again the Nigeria First coverage with laws and implement it throughout all Ministries, Departments and Companies (MDAs). Compliance ought to be tied to efficiency metrics monitored by the Nationwide Bureau of Procurement,” Meshioye mentioned.
A shrinking manufacturing share
Meshioye famous that regardless of Nigeria’s rebased GDP of $244 billion (N372.82 trillion), the share of producing within the financial system has declined, signaling “an even bigger however much less productive and fewer industrialised financial system.”
“The rebasing confirms that Nigeria’s financial system is greater, however much less productive and fewer industrialised,” he mentioned, warning that with out deliberate industrial insurance policies, the nation dangers deepening its dependence on imports and dropping the chance to create sustainable jobs.
He confused that prioritizing home manufacturing by annual native content material benchmarks would assist Nigeria save international change, drive innovation, and create a resilient financial construction.
“If we don’t deliberately assist our personal producers, we won’t be able to compete globally. The ‘Nigeria First’ coverage is about constructing nationwide resilience, creating jobs at house, saving international change, and giving Nigeria the productive basis it must be aggressive globally,” Meshioye mentioned.
What you must know
Saying the Nigeria First coverage in Might this 12 months, the Presidency had declared that the Federal Authorities would bar all Ministries, Departments, and Companies (MDAs) from procuring international items and companies the place native options exist.
- Particular Adviser on Media and Public Communication to President Tinubu, who made the announcement mentioned the directive was one of many key resolutions adopted on the Federal Government Council (FEC) assembly held on the time.
- In accordance with him, the Nigeria First Coverage is designed to stimulate home manufacturing, implement native content material compliance, and overhaul the federal government’s procurement practices.
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