In a recent media briefing preceding MAN’s 51st Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled from October 17 to 19, 2023, in Lagos, Francis Meshioye, the President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), issued a dire warning regarding the future of the manufacturing sector. The theme of the AGM is ‘Setting the Agenda for Competitive Manufacturing Under the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA): What Nigeria Needs to do.’
Meshioye expressed deep concerns about the manufacturing sector’s viability, emphasizing that the escalating cost of production threatens its existence. He pointed to the ongoing scarcity of manufacturing inputs, which is steadily eroding profitability and endangering this critical segment of the economy.
What makes the situation even more disconcerting, according to Meshioye, is that the manufacturing sector, which should be a significant driver of job creation, productivity, and economic growth, is grappling with a series of challenges that continually hinder its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). To ensure that Nigerian manufacturers can effectively compete, Meshioye stressed the imperative of comprehensive and concerted efforts by the government to overcome the constraints that impede local production.
The AGM theme underscores the need for a thorough evaluation of the manufacturing sector’s growth trajectory, not only in Nigeria but throughout Africa. Meshioye revealed that the keynote speaker for the event will be Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, who also served as the Chairman of the Economic Management Team from 2010 to 2011 and later assumed the role of Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investments from 2011 to 2015.
