With 18 months gone in the administration of President Mohammadu Buhari, not less than 272 manufacturing companies have closed down, with 180,000 direct jobs lost within the sector.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, unemployment within the first and second quarter of 2016, rose to 2.6 million, with inflation sporadically increasing from 16.5 percent in June, to 17.1 percent in July, as the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, figures for the second quarter of 2016, dropped from -0.36 per cent in the first quarter, to -2.06 percent year-on-year.
The Presidents forex policies, have also fueled economic crisis in the country, with the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, calling for an immediate review of the current monetary policies.
Post-Nigeria, gathered that most former leaders, have refused to provide any advice to Buhari, in the midst of the current economic challenges.
According to the Director, Economics and Statistics, Manufacturing Association of Nigeria, MAN, Ambrose Oruche, their members’ inability to source dollars, coupled with the CBN ban on 41 items, had brought the manufacturing sector to its knees, as so many have folded up, while others have sorted for shelter in neighbouring countries.
The most disheartening is that, Innoson Motors, the only Vehicle Manufacturing company in Nigeria, has closed up.
Innoson, launched in 2010, had raised its annual production target for 2016, from 4,000 to 6,000 vehicles, due to a “Made in Nigeria” campaign, which generated strong sales to the police, state agencies and churches.
Also, private airlines in the country have begun to pack up, and most companies across board can no longer fuel their power plants, due to the high cost of diesel.
Erisco Foods Tomato Processing Factory, worth over N4 billion ($150 million), has also given up on Nigeria, just to mention a few.
Oruche added, “There must be an urgent review of the CBN’s policy on the restriction of access to foreign exchange placed on the 41 items, as about 16 of the total items on the list, serve as critical raw materials for intermediate goods produced in Nigeria, especially as the country lacks the capacity for optimal production of the items.
“For instance, the ban on oil palm alone had led to a loss of about 100,000 jobs over the last couple of months, while the ban on glass and glassware, resulted in 80,000 job losses, mainly in the pharmaceutical industry”.
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