MAN Laments The Lifting Of Forex Ban On Toothpicks, Others, Fault Federal Government

By Akinwale Kasali

The lifting of ban on the importation of 43 Items into the Country, including toothpicks, has been criticized by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN.

MAN faulted the  Federal Government for allowing the  Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN to lift the foreign exchange restrictions it placed on importation of 43 items eight years ago.

The banned Items include rice, cement margarine, palm kernel, palm oil products, vegetable oils, toothpicks, meat and processed meat products, vegetables and processed vegetable products, and poultry and processed poultry products among others.

Okwara Udensi, MAN Chairman, Edo/Delta branch, faulted the decision at the 37th Annual General meeting in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

He said: “The effect of lifting these 43 items is so much because local manufacturers have invested in these items.

“It seems the Government is not part of this country. Why did they reverse on these items? Nigerians always feel that items coming from abroad are superior.

“Companies are now closing down because of the bad policies of the government. If the manufacturing sector is allowed to die, Nigeria is finished.”

Speaking further, Udensi said, “A critical appraisal of the business environment in Delta State shows that the cost of doing business in the state is high and the operating environment is still not conducive enough.

“The period is incredibly challenging for manufacturing companies due to the worsening prohibitive cost of energy. As a result of epileptic power supply, most companies had to depend on the already prohibitive cost of diesel to run their factories”

Udensi appealed to the Edo State Government to upgrade the road infrastructure, especially within the Utesi industrial estates.

He urged Governor Godwin Obaseki to, as a matter of urgency, address the use of touts in the guise of consultants who go about harassing manufacturers for revenue collection.