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By Akpan David, Calabar
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, (MAN), has told Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State to take proactive actions to encourage their members who fled his state some years ago to other nearby states with favourable economic policies to return with their enterprises.
Chairman of Akwa Ibom/Cross River branch of MAN, Mr Akin Oyediran stated on the sidelines of the association’s 16 Annual General Meeting, (AGM) and Public Lecture held in Calabar.
Oyediran bemoaned the pathetic and deplorable state of major roads into the state capital, Calabar and said the high and multiple taxations slammed on private businesses and manufacturers have been very discouraging to his members.
“If the governor wants us back, we are ready but he must fix roads. He should impress on the federal government to fix the harrowing Calabar-Uyo highway.
“The taxes in Cross River are scary and killing businesses. Let the governor encourage us by eliminating or reducing these heavy taxes”, he stressed.
Speaking further, Oyediran insisted that federal and state governments should create conditions conducive for local manufacturing as well as deliberately patronizing them.
He said the Association is gradually overcoming power problem which has been one of the big challenges confronting them by devising independent electricity power generation source which members are to tap from.
“MAN came up with an initiative where a power system is constructed in a factory without the owners of the factories going to the banks to seek loans.
“When this system is installed, the factory owner pays for usage gradually for 15 years and after 15 years, he owns the system, meanwhile, he no longer has anything to do with diesel or the power holding companies.
“These are some of the innovations that can help us solve problems; our innovations must also involve how we vote, so we don’t vote wrong people into office just because we are related to them,” he said
Oyediran disclosed that the innovation is enabling members wherever they are to key in and overcome power problems. “As a result, it will ensure steady manufacturing of their products”, he said.
In his address, he also called on Nigerians in other sectors to similarly start looking at innovative ways to solve the nation’s economic challenges and not rely on government to do everything.
According to Oyediran, relying on government for innovation most often has hardly worked
He charged local manufacturers to change their orientation and start looking for effective ways to solve their teething problems such as poor power, finance among others.
He advised Nigerians to patronise made in Nigeria goods adding that for every one dollar spent on a foreign product, it makes the product and the foreign company better while local manufacturers die.
He said it was sad that some Nigerians in the corridors of power still come out to demand imported cars when there were local manufacturers in the nation.
Persuading the manufacturers when he spoke through his representative, Mr Bashel Justin, Commissioner for Science and Technology, as Special Guest of Honour, Gov Otu said all over the world, no country would survive without manufacturing adding that manufacturers must be celebrated.
Otu said he was aware of the challenges faced by manufacturers in the state which made many of them fold up.
“We need you all back in the state. We are rebranding the state. Whatever were the issues during previous administrations, we are poised to addressing them all as a way of enticing you to return.
“We want to turn the state from a civil service state to a production state through partnerships,” he said.
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