BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG
LAGOS — NO fewer than 25,000 Nigerians have lost their jobs in the last one and half years to the Federal Government’s twin policies of non-payment of debt owed contractors for completed and certified projects and importation of furniture into the country.

National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers, NUCECFWW, which disclosed this, weekend, lamented that these Nigerians could be willing tools for electoral crimes in the general election coming up in April, and urged the government to arrest the trend in the interest of the socio-economic and political stability of the nation.

General Secretary of NUCECFWW, Comrade Babatude Liadi, decried government refusal to pay contractors for certified jobs done, adding that importation of furniture into the country was causing a serious damage to the furniture and wood work industry in particular and Nigerian economy in general.

He lamented that many of the imported furniture could be manufactured in the country, saying: “There are many capable manufacturers of furniture in the country that can favourably compete and beat some of the imported ones. The importation of furniture has affected the furniture industry negatively.

“Because of these, many of the indigenous furniture manufacturing firms have closed shops while the remaining ones are struggling to survive.”

The effects of these closures and harsh competition are retrenchments and redundancies in the industry, capital flight, high exchange rate, de-industrialisation, and high crime rate, among others.

“While the companies that have closed down have released their workers into the labour, companies that are struggling to survive are also doing same into the already saturated labour market.”

This is being compounded by the Federal Government and many State Governors who are now concentrating on politics rather than provision of infrastructural facilities for their citizenry. Many of these governments have stopped paying contractors who have either completed their contracts or are at various stages of completion.

Many of them have even stopped embarking on construction of projects and have technically stalled governance at both federal and States I do not think governance should· stop even as we prepare for the general elections. When the government refuses to give approval for new projects that can be of benefit to people. They should be able to pursue their political ambition side by side with provision of infrastructural facilities such as good roads, office facilities and affordable housing for the people.”

“These actions have starved the contracting firms/companies of funds to pay workers because of that many managements are carrying out massive retrenchments in the industry. There is an urgent need to effect the payment to these contractors, so as that the contractors will get money to remain in business and halt ongoing retrenchment in the industry. The security implication of refusal of the government to pay the contractors and the massive sack in the industry is provision of willing tools for the politicians to disrupt the coming elections.

It is sad to inform you that in the last one and half years, we have lost over 25,000 workers to furniture import and government refusal to pay contractors for certified projects done. I can tell you that some of these workers that are released into the labour market if left with no other choice will engage themselves in unscrupulous means to survive. Since the general elections are near, it will be unfortunate if some of these workers are willing tools in the hands of politicians to disrupt the elections. Foreign exchange used for importation of these furniture products can be conserved to boost the value of the Naira and as such save the nation’s economy from further stress.”

He added that “the importers of these furniture products should know that funds that could have used in the development of Nigerian economy are being transferred into other countries where these furniture products are imported. While such action is creating unemployment and closure of furniture manufacturing firms in Nigeria, there will be creation of jobs and furniture industry boom in those countries from where the furniture are imported.

The Federal Government should initiate policies that will protect the indigenous companies against harmful foreign competition by placing high tariffs and income duties on imported furniture materials. In fact as a policy to protect the indigenous companies, our government should put furniture among the banned products that should not be imported to the country.

The government should also give incentives, such as tax relief and establishment of special intervention funds, among others, to local manufacturers of furniture. This will protect the indigenous furniture manufacturing firms and will not make their case to be like that of textile industry.”