Cost of manufacturing affects job creation – NLC

President of the NLC Comrade Ayuba Wabba stated this recently in Lagos as a guest of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ikeja, Lagos State branch during a business luncheon meeting for managing directors/chief executive officers of companies in Nigeria. Wabba said “the cost of production in Nigeria is too high, perhaps the highest in […]

President of the NLC Comrade Ayuba Wabba stated this recently in Lagos as a guest of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ikeja, Lagos State branch during a business luncheon meeting for managing directors/chief executive officers of companies in Nigeria.
Wabba said “the cost of production in Nigeria is too high, perhaps the highest in the whole world. Manufacturers spend as much as N3.5 trillion annually to run power generators for production due to the collapse of public electricity.”
Apart from infrastructural decay, he added, manufacturers are confronted with other challenges, particularly government indebtedness even though most of them borrow to produce.
“The construction industry for instance, is owed by all the three tiers of government over N600 billion. How will the industry survive if after delivering services they don’t get paid? How will workers’ salaries be paid when due, if employers don’t get paid for their services?
“Another challenge we know you face is the importation of products which you also produce locally. These imported products take advantage of your deprivations in the area of infrastructure to bring in goods, most of which are substandard and sell them cheaper than yours. There can’t be fair competition when cost of production, standards and environmental factors are not the same. We therefore urge government to impose a total ban on the importation of all goods produced by our local manufacturers.”