Following up on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report for the third quarter of 2022, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), said the overall decline in aggregate and sectoral performance could have far-reaching adverse effects on manufacturers.

The association said that despite higher oil prices and improving terms of trade, the growth expansion of the Nigerian economy remains slowly above the population growth rate.

MAN CEO Segun Ajayi-Kadir said the sector’s negative GDP growth sends a strong signal to potential investors in the sector, saying the imminent outcome is negative investor sentiment and pessimism against supply. of critical raw materials, technology and the know-how needed to advance the industry.

A recent report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the year-on-year real GDP growth of the Nigerian economy stood at 2.25% in the third quarter of 2022.

With a real GDP value of N18.96 trillion, the latest performance means a deficit of 1.78 percentage points from the 4.03 percent real GDP growth recorded in the third quarter of the previous year. It also indicates a decrease of 1.29 percentage points with respect to the value of economic activities registered in the second quarter of 2022.

Ajayi-Kadir stated that Nigeria’s path towards economic growth, industrialization and sustainable development has been jeopardized by inadequate attention to the many pressing challenges facing manufacturers who must drive its long-term economic agenda.

According to him, achieving a stable, fast-growing economy would require addressing the daily bottlenecks faced by business owners within the manufacturing sector, considering its active interrelationships with other key sectoral drivers of the economy.

“Amid the numerous challenges, currency shortage, multiple taxes, exorbitant interest rate, high cost business operating environment, smuggling, insecurity, energy crisis and epileptic power supply are in the lead. “, said.

In order to restore the sector to an enviable position in the global business environment and in turn drive inclusive growth of the Nigerian economy, MAN hoped that the government would facilitate the formal service sector to widen the tax net and avoid the multiple imposition of taxes on manufacturing. companies.

He emphasized the approach to insecurity and contraband; continue to engage all stakeholders to play a vital role in supporting safety throughout the oil infrastructure; and deploy means to reduce unemployment and increase manufacturing productivity by encouraging local sourcing of raw materials, improving infrastructure developments, resolving all credit and currency related challenges, ensuring implementation of Executive Order 003, and imposing electricity rates and energy prices that reflect costs.

The association added that synergistically aligning monetary and fiscal policies while reducing fiscal deficits by phasing out fuel subsidies backed with appropriate palliatives for the poor; coping with floods by adopting erosion control mechanisms, early warning and emergency services, as well as flood risk assessment and ecological funds; and further reduce the country’s reliance on imported goods and raw materials by encouraging local sourcing through a comprehensive and integrated incentive system, as Nigeria is largely bearing the brunt of imported inflation.