Industrialists warn FG over uncontrolled trade agreements

SOME manufacturers have cautioned the
Federal Government over the possible negative
impact its unrestrained appetite to enter into
trade agreements might have on industries in
Nigeria.
Rev. Isaac Ade Agoye, out-going Chairman,
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Ikeja
Branch, issued the warning on behalf of its
members at the 46th Annual General Meeting
of the association in Lagos.
He charged the Federal Government to make
concerted effort to check the influx of
smuggled and imported sub-standard products,
saying that they are anti-manufacturing.
“Government must also have a re-think on the
various trade agreements she is engaging,
especially the Nigeria and the European Union
to the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)
agreement. “In order to guarantee the
continued survival and profitability of our
businesses, we expect the Federal government
to provide the requisite infrastructure support,
especially power (energy), refrain from policy
inconsistencies and take practical steps to stop
high incidence of unfair competition from
imported of smuggled sub-standard goods and
counterfeits.
“While the influx of sub-standard and smuggled
goods is on the rise, sandwiched between these
are the government regulatory agencies with
multiple visits and duplication of duties cum
fees/levies/taxes and most often than not,
unimaginable fine,” he said.
Consequently, he called for fusion of these
government agencies with over-lapping
functions, saying that it would save
manufacturers cost and man-hour-loss.
Lamenting the sorry state of the manufacturing
sector in Nigeria, he said, “The current state of
the manufacturing sector has been occasioned
principally by inefficient public sector
investments and policy inconsistencies. This is
compounded by dearth of skilled manpower
and human brain drain unregulated
importation of goods produced by local
industries, lopsided tariff regimes, inadequate
access to finance and heavy capital flight.
Others are weak consumer demand for local
products and smuggling, waning small and
medium scale industrial concerns and decay in
infrastructural facilities.”
He stated that the challenges have resulted in
abysmal capacity utilisation and dismal
performance of the manufacturing sector, high
rate of factory closures, as well as low
contribution to GDP by manufacturing sector.
He appealed to the Lagos State Governor,
Babatuinde Fashola to set aside one special day
for interaction with manufacturers in the state,
saying that most of the town hall meetings and
other stakeholders’ fora organised by the
government is not usually well structured to
accommodate chief executives of
manufacturing concerns in Lagos.
He also appealed to the state government to
publish the state’s policy on industrialisation,
investment opportunities and available
incentives for budding entrepreneurs and also
put in place a strategic policy framework that
will stimulate the patronage of made-in-Nigeria
products for government functions, projects
and programmes.