The Director-General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Mr. Ajayi Kadiri has stated that the exit of Procter & Gamble from Nigeria is not surprising, and more manufacturing firms are likely to follow suit in the country.
Mr. Kadiri stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise daily program this morning where he stated that unless the issues that necessitated the exit of P&G are addressed, the country’s manufacturing sector will continue to wobble.
He further stated that the exit of GSK and P&G masks the closure of many local manufacturing firms that have closed in recent times but were not publicized since they were not foreign investors.
He stated,“We received the news of the exit of P&G with sadness, but it is not unexpected and more will happen because we operate in a challenging environment.
We have always said that manufacturing in any economy is a strategic choice, the government has to make up its mind whether it wants its country to be an industrialized one”
FG should prioritize local manufacturers
The speaker, Mr. Ajayi Kadiri noted that the exit of P&G and other international manufacturing firms sends a message to the government to always prioritize local manufacturers as they don’t have anywhere to go.
He said, “The big ones that are exiting are those multinationals and I think this should send a clear signal to the government that we need to guide what we promote.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) should come secondary to empowering the local manufacturer because that is what is enduring and can allow you to scale.”
FG’s N75 billion loan to manufacturers
On the proposed federal government’s N75 billion loans to 75 manufacturing firms, the MAN Director-General said the figure is a drop in the ocean compared to the needs and numbers of manufacturers.
He explained that there are over 2500 registered manufacturers across the country and MAN is uncertain about the specific industries the federal government plans to focus on.
He also called for the review of the interest rate on the loan from 9% to something around 5%.
Backstory
Last week, Procter & Gamble announced plans to close operations in Nigeria and revert to an import-only business model.
The company cited reasons such as difficulty in operating as a USD-denominated entity and other macroeconomic issues.
