…As MAN seeks revival of moribund industries

By Yinka Kolawole

The federal government is set for full implementation of an industrial roadmap in Nigeria aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of local manufacturers.

Minister of State for Industry, Sen. John Enoh, who made the assertion at the inauguration of the Industrial Revolution Work Group (IRWG), reaffirmed the government’s commitment to creating a level playing field for local manufacturers as part of efforts to boost industrial production and economic growth in the country.

This is even as the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) called on the newly inaugurated IRWG to work towards the revival of the over 700 industries shut down due to binding constraints in the country.

The minister noted that for Nigeria to gain effectively from exports there was a need for an increase in the production of value-added commodities.

According to the minister, fostering a competitive manufacturing environment will have a positive impact on production and industry, contributing to national economic development.

“We have companies that are producing and cannot sell, not because they’re not producing quality goods, but because they are challenged by unfair competition.

“The industries are saying that the government needs to stop the smuggling of goods into our country. Perhaps most of these goods are also substandard, but they are made to compete in the marketplace with goods that have been produced in-country amidst the challenges and the constraints,” the minister explained.

“The inauguration of the IRWG is more than an initiative. It is a clarion call to action, a bold commitment to reshaping our nation’s economic destiny.

“History had shown us that no country attains sustainable prosperity without a robust and competitive industrial base. We will assess and strategically resuscitate industries that have long held untapped potentials”.

“Through technology adoption, capacity building, and quality reforms, we will foster an environment where Nigerian manufacturers thrive locally and globally,” Enoh added.

In his remark at the event, former Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, commended the current administration’s commitment to revitalizing Nigeria’s industrial landscape.

“For decades, Nigeria has struggled with the challenge of industrial stagnation, private industries have succumbed to inefficiencies, outdated policies, and infrastructure decay.

“To address this, Nigeria launched an Industrial Revolution plan in 2014, commenced implementation, and then put it in the cooler for almost 10 years.

“If that plan had been rigorously implemented as it was intended, Nigeria today would have become a top competitive global exporter in at least three or four of the 13 products identified for export,” he stated.“

The IRWG represents a strategic and pragmatic approach to industrial policy making, as well as policy execution by bringing together key stakeholders from the public and the private sector to this initiative that will drive a targeted structured process to tackle the pressing challenges facing Nigeria’s manufacturing sector, and resuscitate moribund industries,” Aganga added.

Meanwhile, speaking after the inauguration, Director General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, expressed hope that the IRWG would take steps to revive all the industries that have been shut down due to the harsh economic environment in the country.

According to him, it is important now to revive those industries, rather than lamenting over their shutdown, and ensure that the surviving ones do not go down the same way.

Recall that MAN raised the alarm that 767 manufacturing companies shut down in 2023 while 335 others became distressed due to multidimensional challenges besetting the sector.

Ajayi-Kadir said that the private sector and the public sector are working together under IRWG to remove binding constraints that have limited the performance of the sector for a very long time.

“We will be revisiting past initiatives that were abandoned; we will be looking forward to working collaboratively with regulatory agencies and other aspects of government that are needed to grow our industry,” he added.