The Producers Affiliation of Nigeria (MAN) has warned that the unfolding geopolitical tensions within the Center East poses instant, extreme and multifaceted dangers to Nigeria’s manufacturing sector, whereas outlining pressing pathways to safeguard business operators.
Director Basic of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, in a press release, stated the sector is already grappling with the ripple results of the worldwide vitality shock triggered by the battle, warning that the sector’s projected 3.1 per cent actual development goal for 2026 is now below critical threat.
In line with him, producers’ heavy reliance on gasoline and Automotive Gasoline Oil (diesel) for production has uncovered them to spiraling vitality prices, as rising world crude oil costs proceed to push home pump and depot costs upward, eroding working margins.
“Vitality value escalation is biting onerous. Many producers are seeing their margins worn out nearly in a single day,” Ajayi-Kadir acknowledged.
He additional famous that imported inflation and escalating freight prices are compounding the disaster. Prolonged transit occasions and better delivery bills and logistics bills, he defined, have made the importation of vital uncooked supplies more and more prohibitive.
“The implication is evident – production prices are rising sharply, whereas client buying energy is weakening. This has created a harmful state of affairs the place producers are battling each excessive prices and unsold inventories.
“Producers are actually confronted with the twin threat of skyrocketing production prices and unsold inventories, a improvement that might derail the sector’s projected 3.1 per cent development in 2026,” he stated.
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To mitigate the looming disaster, MAN referred to as on the Federal Authorities to urgently implement focused interventions. These embrace fast-tracking the Presidential Compressed Pure Gasoline (CNG) initiative for industrial clusters to cut back dependence on diesel, and establishing a devoted international alternate window by the Central {Bank} of Nigeria for the importation of vital inputs.
The affiliation additionally advocated for the domestication of petroleum provide chains by guaranteeing that native refineries prioritise provide to home producers at aggressive charges, alongside a brief suspension of logistics levies and a number of taxation on haulage.
“The present disaster is a stark reminder of Nigeria’s vulnerability to exterior shocks as a result of our dependence on imported inputs,” Ajayi-Kadir stated. “Whereas we can’t management world geopolitics, we are able to management our home response.”
He confused that the state of affairs presents a vital alternative for Nigeria to pivot in direction of real manufacturing self-sufficiency, warning that failure to behave decisively might lead to widespread manufacturing facility closures and job losses throughout the nation.
To cushion logistics pressures, MAN really useful a right away six-month suspension of a number of haulage levies, freeway taxes and transit tolls imposed on producers.
“We can’t management world geopolitics, however we are able to management our home response,” Ajayi-Kadir acknowledged. “This disaster should function a catalyst for constructing a extra resilient and self-sufficient manufacturing sector, moderately than repeating the errors of the previous.”
He warned that failure to behave decisively might result in widespread manufacturing facility closures, job losses and a big setback to Nigeria’s industrialisation drive.
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