By Rukayat Moisemhe
#TrackNigeria – The Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said that stability of economic policies and improvement on the existing economic platforms were the association’s expectations from the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Buhari was on Wednesday declared winner of Nigeria’s high stakes presidential election where 72 people slugged it out over the plum job.
Ajayi-Kadir spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday on the sidelines of a news conference at Ikeja on the 2019 Nigeria Manufacturing and Equipment Expo (NME), scheduled to hold from March 12 to March 14 in Lagos.
Ajayi-Kadir told Buhari to take stock of his administration’s past achievements and improve upon various policy initiatives, particularly the Ease of Doing Business and the implementation of the executive order 003.
He advised that a more concrete timeline for assessing and renovating the system must be put in place and accurately followed for the delivery of economic growth.
“We look forward to a deepening of all processes particularly the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.
“There has to be an evaluation on performance, lapses and the involvement of a monitoring process that is inclusive of both the private and public sectors,’’ he said.
Addressing the NME Expo, the President of MAN, Mr Mansur Ahmed, explained that the expo was targeted at Small and Medium Enterprises and entrepreneurs to equip them with information on new processes and ways to boost their production outputs.
He disclosed that previous expos had made significant impact on the economy by providing opportunities for over 3,700 manufacturers to evaluate the latest manufacturing equipment and technologies.
“I expect that the expo will impact greatly on the Nigerian market as it provides exposure to the entire manufacturing value-chain.
“Over 3,700 manufacturers and manufacturing equipment distributors benefited from the expos of previous years.
“They were able to evaluate latest manufacturing equipment, machine tools and technologies which were on display by over 120 leading local and international suppliers from France, Italy, Germany, Nigeria and a host of other countries.
“The expo serves to contribute to the growth of the manufacturing sector through providing effective avenue for local manufacturers to source for equipment for retooling and alternative raw materials,’’ he said.
Prof. Hadiza Ibrahim, Director-General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, reiterated the mandate of the council at promoting the development and utilisation of the nation’s abundant natural resources.
This, she said, was to serve sustainable industrial inputs for manufacturing industries, its stakeholders to synergise, showcase and trade directly with the industrial sectors of MAN.
According to her, these can be achieved through the expo which promotes the diversification of the economy in line with the agenda of the government.
“The government seeks to encourage the growth and development of resources based micro, small and medium scale manufacturing industries involved in the agricultural and mineral sectors and this expo greatly drives that home,’’ she said.
Mr Joseph Oru, Project Manager, Clarion Events West Africa, the organisers of the expo said that the expo served to bridge the gap through knowledge transfer and sustainable application of the combination of resources to support the growth of the industry.
“Through this expo, we intend to showcase the full manufacturing value-chain involved in the manufacturing process from raw material to equipment, multi-modal activities and finished goods.
“There would also be 100 manufacturing CEOs in attendance to exchange ideas, steer policy discussions, and enhance dialogue between key stakeholders and investors to help shape the future of manufacturing in Nigeria,’’ he said. (NAN)
The theme of the expo is: “Optimising Value-Chain towards Growth and Competitiveness in the Manufacturing Sector’’. (NAN)
