Dr Wale Adegbite, former Chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ogun chapter, has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide more foreign exchange to the manufacturing sector, to boost economic activities.
Adegbite, who gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Monday, in Ota, Ogun, said the advice had become necessary to enable the manufacturing sector compete with its counterparts at the global level.
“The sourcing of Forex, procurement of raw materials, should be given top priority by the CBN so that the sector can produce goods at optimal level, “ he said.
The former MAN Chairman also called on the Federal Government to address the issues of stable power supply, adequate security, and good road network, among others, so as to enhance the productivity of the sector.
He further appealed to government to address the bottlenecks that had increased the cost of transportation of manufactured goods and services from one part of the country to the other.
According to him, the manufacturing sector has huge potentials to contribute more to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), than what it is currently contributing, if only the government would work harder to provide a more enabling environment.
Adegbite noted that by making more profit, manufacturers would create more jobs during the current recession, thereby drastically reducing the unemployment in the country.(NAN)