By Akpan David, Calabar
The Chairman of Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State branch of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Akin Oyediran has called on state and federal governments of Nigeria to give them encouragement.
He said such encouragement will activates their manufacturing activities which in turn will firmly bolster both the state and national economies.
He spoke in Calabar where he led eight other officials of the branch to pay a courtesy call on the deputy governor of the state, Prof Ivara Esu.
He told Esu that most of their members now produced at less than 30% of their original capacities, stating that that has spellled dangers for the national economy.
According to him, 90% of MAN members in both states are producing at less than 30% capacity due to several hurdles and impediments.
Oyediran listed that huge and multiple taxations, lack of government patronage, poor road infrastructure between the two states and epileptic power supplies have impacted much against manufacturing.
The MAN chairman called on both state and federal governments to encourage their members by buying their products, saying local manufacturers are the engines of economies.
He encouragement can boost state government internally generated revenues, and create more employment opportunities.
“Unlike governments elsewhere, often our government at federal and state levels hardly patronise our products. If they don’t patronise Made In Nigeria products who will buy from us? We need incentives and patronage to grow our manufacturing base.”
He noted that governments have churned out several economies policies but lack of enforcement and implementation are absent.
He called on government to have MAN represented for practical inputs wheny they want to churn out economy policies.”
Oyediran said there have been poor communication channels between the state government and themselves.
“We are using this opportunity to open communication with government. We have short term and long term plans. We are looking at issues we have on ground that we need to take care of as far as the state is concerned.
“The people of Cross River and Akwa Ibom state should expect jobs. The Chinese were able to move 350 million people out of poverty into middle class in ten years with manufacturing and moved from 12 to second economy in the world. If you go back into the history of industrialization every single great power in the world has used manufacturing to grow it’s economy.
“What we need to do now is to look inward. we have everything. We have more advantages than China had. We have very fertile land in Cross River, for example. We have the mineral resources. We have very smart and young people. All we need to do now is put all these resources together and create the manufacturing economy to grow our national country.”
He appealed to the state government to invest in them so that they, too, can pay taxes, stressing that “No nation can really developed or transit from first world to third world without robust manufacturing industry.”
Welcoming them, the deputy governor Prof. Ivara Ejemot Esu assured that they are addressing issues of multiple taxations, revealing that touts were on the prowl but that they have Anti-Tax Agency which is tackling the issue.
Esu blamed MAN distancing themselves from the state government and not also taking advantage of the free lands and other incentives, offer to privatise the 38 industries built by the Gov Ben Ayade administration.
“Despite that Government has offered lands free of charge and proposed concessioning our many industries built by our government, surprisingly those that have shown interests are not even from Cross River or Akwa Ibom States.
“To our disappointment, we have not seen your members come forward to support this initiative of our government.
“We agree that government has no business being in business. But we have provided enabling environment to make business thrive. Government realising the poverty nature of our environment has gone ahead to establish these industries, with the intention to go ahead and privatize them, for people of your association to come forward and participate.”
The officials, including the vice chairman Usen Umoh, treasurer Nnamdi Nnwaneka, council member Chief Ikechukwu Ebo, Victor Dickson, Clinton Ochomma, Matthew Anuga and Secretary Klinton Offiong, were next day taken round the sprawling Ayade Industrial Park to see arrays of factories established by the administration.
