The Federal Government on Tuesday said it is ready to join forces with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to come up with an actionable roadmap and policy framework that would revamp the nation’s manufacturing sector.
The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, gave the assurance, saying if presented, the roadmap and policy framework would be speedily implemented to effect the needed changes that will revamp the sector.
The VP, who disclosed this while declaring open a three-day National Manufacturing Policy Summit at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, regretted that the sector, which has a crucial role to play in building a nation driven by production and abundance, had endured a series of setbacks over the past decades.
“I implore us all to leverage this summit to develop an actionable roadmap and policy framework, ready for immediate implementation, to create the changes we want in the manufacturing sector.
“I assure you that we shall always maintain an open-door policy to accommodate your needs and expectations,” Shettima stated.
The Vice President also called for the prioritisation of local content and promotion of made-in-Nigeria products, noting that Executive Order 003 which makes the patronage of locally manufactured products mandatory is still in effect.
“Let us be reminded that we cannot achieve significant progress in our drive for industrialisation unless we deliberately promote the production of capital goods. We must be focused on expanding our production base, prioritizing local content, and promoting made-in-Nigeria products.
“I want to assure you that Executive Order No 003 – Support for Local Content in Public Procurement by the Federal Government, which mandates the patronage of locally manufactured products is still in effect. The relevant government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) are mandated to fully comply with the order,” he declared.
Shettima observed that as a country in Africa, “a continent that has languished at the bottom of the global value chain, with its share of global manufacturing at less than two percent,” Nigeria has no better option than to support its indigenous firms to produce locally and increase their capabilities.
The summit, according to him, offers the opportunity to re-evaluate the challenges confronting the sector and proffer solutions that would resolve them, even as he noted that a competitive manufacturing sector would reduce the inequities in the nation’s economy as well as over-dependence on imports.