The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has called on the federal government to urgently clear outstanding foreign exchange obligations owed to manufacturers and to provide clarity on the application of the 2025 tax laws.

Speaking at the 59th Annual General Meeting of MAN Ikeja Branch in Lagos on Tuesday, Francis Meshioye, MAN president, said unresolved forex-forward commitments by the Central Bank of Nigeria continue to hurt investor confidence despite improvements in forex market stability.

“While we acknowledge improvement in forex market stability, the issue of outstanding forex-forward obligations owed to manufacturers by the CBN remains unresolved,” Meshioye said. “These obligations represent valid contractual commitments,” he noted.

MAN president appeals to the President to direct the CBN to liquidate these backlogs without further delay, adding that doing so restores credibility and investor confidence, and signals that Nigeria is a country that honours its contracts.

On taxation, Meshioye said there is conflicting information on the commencement and application of the new tax laws, particularly around retroactive implementation.

He urged the Ministry of Finance and the Nigeria Revenue Service to harmonise their positions.

“The position of OPSN is clear: tax laws must not apply retroactively. The 2025 fiscal year should be governed by the laws in place as of January 2025,” he said.

“We call for urgent harmonisation between the Ministry of Finance and the Nigeria Revenue Service to provide clarity, ensure legal certainty and ease of compliance for businesses.”

Meshioye also listed high interest rates, energy costs, poor infrastructure and multiple taxation as key constraints to manufacturing.

He said the current interest rate environment has made investment in plants, machinery and expansion extremely difficult, while noting that manufacturers in Ikeja, Ogba, Ilupeju and Ikorodu estates are forced into self-generation due to unreliable power.

To address the challenges, MAN proposed institutionalising quarterly dialogue sessions between government and manufacturers.

The association also called for the inclusion of major industrial estates in the Lagos industrial power programme, partnerships with IPPs, and a one-stop shop for tax and regulatory compliance to reduce duplication and costs.

Meshioye said MAN fully supports the Nigerian Industrial Policy 2025 launched in February and will work with the government to ensure its implementation delivers more factories and jobs.

Thomas Osobu, chairman of MAN Ikeja Branch, in his welcome speech, said the future of Nigeria’s manufacturing sector will depend on the quality, consistency and implementation of government policies.

Osobu said manufacturers have remained resilient despite persistent challenges including policy inconsistency, multiple taxation, foreign exchange volatility, escalating energy costs, logistics bottlenecks and inadequate infrastructure.

He said the theme of this year’s AGM, ‘The Future of Manufacturing in Nigeria: Policy Reforms,’ was timely given the operating environment. Osobu noted that well-conceived and consistently implemented reforms can unlock industrial productivity, stimulate investment, encourage innovation, create jobs and expand exports.

He added that the branch is committed to deepening advocacy, strengthening stakeholder engagement and improving member services. He called on participants to contribute to discussions aimed at policy reforms that will improve the ease of doing business and attract industrial investment.

In her lecture on ‘the Future of Manufacturing in Nigeria: Policy Reforms,’ Stella Chinyelu Okoli, CEO of Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries, said Nigeria must move from “barely surviving” on imports to producing and exporting locally made goods to achieve economic prosperity, job creation and national security.

Okoli, represented by Collette Oluchi, a Pharmacist, said that despite manufacturers facing high energy costs, forex volatility, interest rates and multiple taxation, Nigeria still has strong advantages, including a large domestic market, youthful workforce and abundant resources.

“Nigeria cannot become a prosperous nation by only consuming what it does not produce. No strong economy is built on only imports,” Okoli said.

“There are no sufficient jobs without productive industries. No economic sovereignty without local production. There is no national security without a local supply of essentials.”

She cited COVID-19 as a lesson, when Nigeria had to depend on imported drugs and vaccines.

“That taught us we need to look inwards at the country, and start manufacturing what our people can actually consume, and not depend on just imports, imports, imports.”

Okoli outlined nine policy reforms needed for the sector to compete globally: stable and predictable policies, power as a priority, affordable long-term financing, FX that supports production, local content, government procurement of made-in-Nigeria goods, enabling regulation, infrastructure and logistics, and making exports a “national obsession.”

On financing and local content, she called for a national manufacturing finance programme and special support for pioneer projects such as API manufacturing.

“Manufacturing is capital-intensive, and it needs patient capital,” she said. “We make the APIs here, we make the excipients here, and then we’ll make the finished products here. Then we’ll be able to build our medical security as a country.”

Okoli said the government and manufacturers must sign a “new social contract” where the government provides the enabling environment and industry invests, innovates and competes globally.

“The future of Nigeria will not be built by what we import. It will be built by what we have the courage, the discipline, and imagination to produce.”

In his keynote address, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos state governor, said the state is focused on reducing production costs, fixing infrastructure and improving regulation to make the business environment easier for manufacturers.

The governor, who was represented by Olumuyiwa Ojelabi, head of public affairs at the office of the Secretary to the Lagos State Government, said the government alone cannot build a prosperous economy, while recognising the role of manufacturers in job creation and economic growth.

He noted that challenges such as rising production costs, energy issues, access to finance, logistics and regulatory bottlenecks affect both manufacturers and consumers.

We are also very conscious of the realities facing manufacturers today. The rising cost of production, energy challenges, access to finance, logistics, infrastructure, and regulatory requirements are really concerning,” he said.

“Our goal is to make Lagos a place where businesses can operate, grow, and create value. Where there are bottlenecks within our processes, we must be willing to address them. Where there is a need for better coordination among agencies, we will work to achieve it.”

He urged manufacturers to explore local sourcing, innovation and sustainable production, adding that regulation must be clear, predictable and coordinated.

The governor called for continued dialogue with MAN and stressed that the future of Lagos is tied to a productive sector that manufactures, creates and innovates rather than one dependent on imports. (BusinessDay)

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