George Onafowokan, the managing director of Coleman Wires and Cables, has pushed the federal government to prioritize the manufacturing industry in 2024.
Onafowokan urged the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment to bring the predicament of manufacturers before the White House in a statement.
Coleman MD asserts that the presence of a minister in the government who does not support the industry is a red flag.
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Additionally, he emphasized that the industry should come before commerce and capital.
Onafowokan emphasized that the government should concentrate on enhancing the capacity of current investors rather than merely depending on Foreign Direct Investments, and that the country’s overabundance of bureaucracy had been impeding investment.
The National Bureau of Statistics reports that foreign investment in the manufacturing sector of the nation fell by 54% from $605 million in the second quarter of 2023 to $279.5 million in the third quarter of 2023.
According to Onafowokan, if a firm invests in a pioneer product, it can fail in two years unless the investors are foreigners with substantial government backing. To guarantee greater attention and assistance, he recommended keeping the industry apart from other ministries.
Onafowokan said he was worried about palliative care utilizing public funds because he thought it would lead to higher inflation.
He claimed that the palliatives need to be productive and that it would have a detrimental effect on inflation rates if the money were used to purchase food for the populace.
In addition, he emphasized that in order to guarantee the industrial sector’s sustainability, fiscal and monetary policy must be balanced.