By Providence Ayanfeoluwa

Nigeria’s cable giant, Coleman Technical Industries Limited, CTIL has called for urgent policy reforms to enable Nigerian manufacturers to fully utilise their production capacity and compete effectively in the international market.

Managing Director/Chief Executive of Coleman, George Onafowokan, made the call while fielding questions from journalists after a media tour of Coleman’s factories in Sagamu, Ogun State.

He said Nigeria was losing significant employment, investment and export opportunities because manufacturers were unable to operate their facilities at optimal capacity due to unfavourable policies and other structural challenges.

He said Coleman had invested heavily in high-voltage cables, fibre optics, copper processing and other manufacturing facilities, whereas the plants were operating significantly below their potential capacity.

Onafowokan said: “Nigeria has a lot of potential for export, but we’re just not utilising it. And that, I think, is where the policies are not in our favour, because we’re not potentially enabling companies to be export-orientated.”

He explained that the company’s high-voltage cable facility, in which investment was made in 2014, was currently operating at less than 10 per cent capacity, while overall utilisation across its expanded facilities was about 20 per cent, adding that the company’s fibre-optic facility had the capacity to supply Nigeria and a substantial part of the African market.

He said the company was not utilising the facility to its full potential, saying that it invested more than $60 million in its fibre-optic operations, with part of the investment supported through funding from the Bank of Industry, FCMB and InfraCredit.

He said: “We remained committed to investing in Nigeria despite the challenges, Coleman is wholly indigenous and making its investments as a business rather than as a government-backed enterprise. Nigeria had the potential to become a major exporter of cables and other industrial products if existing production capacity was properly utilised. Running factories at higher capacity would create thousands of additional jobs, increase tax revenue and boost Nigeria’s export earnings.”

He opined that stronger local manufacturing was also critical to ensuring that Nigerian companies could take advantage of opportunities arising from major industrial projects and compete in regional and international markets.

He said manufacturers needed a more supportive policy environment to expand their participation in local and export markets.

Onafowokan who revealed that the company was seeking approval for a free trade zone licence for its Sagamu facility to enable the expansion of its export operations, revealed that the application had been pending for more than one year.

He criticised the current tariff structure, which he said made it difficult for Nigerian manufacturers importing raw materials to remain competitive when exporting finished products.

He advocated a bonded system that would allow manufacturers to import raw materials for products meant for export without paying the full applicable duties, provided they could demonstrate that the finished products were subsequently exported.

He said similar systems were already being operated in countries including India, China and South Africa, arguing that Nigeria needed comparable policies to encourage export-oriented manufacturing.

He said manufacturers should not be forced to establish separate factories inside and outside free trade zones simply to benefit from different tariff regimes.

Onafowokan urged the Federal Government, particularly the Ministries of Finance and Industry, Trade and Investment, to review policies on tariffs, manufacturing and exports to make Nigerian products more competitive globally.

He also urged the government to be more deliberate in creating and supporting large-scale Nigerian businesses, saying stronger local industries would contribute significantly to economic growth, job creation and Nigeria’s export earnings.