For productivity to increase and to make life better for manufacturers, the Director General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, Segun Ajayi Kadiri, on Tuesday night tasked the federal government to tackle insecurity in the country which he noted is becoming a “disincentive” to investments.
Fielding questions on Channels Television programme, Politics Today, Kadiri lamented that 60 percent of members of MAN in the North-East have closed shop due to insecurity.
Kadiri also suggested the privatisation of Nigeria’s four refineries – two in Port Harcourt and one each in Warri and Kaduna – stating that the government has no business running them, as well as address the energy crisis, noting that manufacturers spent over ₦2 trillion on alternative energy in 2023 alone due to unreliable power supply, a cost he said, directly impacts the final price of goods and hinders industrial productivity.
According to the MAN DG, “I think government should completely privatise all other refineries. They should ensure that the naira for crude policy is sustainable and adequately funded and supported. They should ensure that in terms of electricity supply, that we do something about the obviously incompetent DISCOs that we have and ensure that we are able to drive investments into the sector to guarantee supply. We should also ensure that we have a situation where we tackle insecurity because it’s becoming a disincentive for investments.
“Sixty percent of our members in the North-East have closed shop and I believe that with increased security, we will be able to put life into all these areas”.
Underscoring the imperative of privatising the refineries, Kadiri said “If you ask me, the government should just sell these refineries. Give them to private sector people who will run them efficiently and be able to deliver. When something belongs to everybody, it belongs to nobody”.
Responding to alleged monopoly by Dangote Refinery, Kadiri said “we should learn that Nigeria is too big to be pocketed. We have too many resilient, hard-working Nigerians that are ready to make good of private business. I think government should partner with those people and let us run an economy.
“Those four refineries you are talking about, they are just pure drain on the Nigerian economy, and it is not fair to the Nigerian people. We should have a situation where we are able to speak truth to ourselves and ensure that we encourage private sector investment.
“It’s our natural endowment. We are the sixth-largest producer of crude oil in the world, and yet we suffer. I can tell you that if you completely go private, it will be difficult for anyone to steal.
“It will be difficult for anybody to be unaccountable. It will be difficult for anybody to have a situation where you have continuous insinuations of massive fraud anywhere. So, I do not subscribe to the view that we are creating a monopoly”
The MAN DG insisted that “Those four other refineries are potential competitors. We’ve been told that one is working, then again told that it’s not. Give them to people who will ensure they actually work”.