Dr. KolaJamodu, former Minister of Industry has urged  the Federal Government to reduce  import tariffs on plants and machinery to  strengthen the nation’s  manufacturing sector.

He gave the advice during the 12th convocation of the BellsUniversity of Technology, Ota, Ogun State where he was honoured with the awardof Honorary Doctorate Degree, Doctor of Science (D.Sc) Honoris Causa.

 He implored the government to provide additional supports for the manufacturing sector to reinvent the ailing economy,adding that the development  remains the only solution that could provide  job opportunity for youths in the country .

He recalled that during his tenure as the Minister of Industry under the regime of former President Olusegun Obasanjo hindrances  were removed for cement manufacturing and other industries to take a sound footing in the country.

 “Tariffs on Plant and machinery at that time was high and these were items we don’t produce in the country and it is not economically viable for anybody to produce it. What did we do? It was reduced to 5 per cent not only that it was decided it would be for a period of four or five years to measure its effect on manufacturers or whoever wants to go into manufacturing. The number of manufacturers that embraced this was overwhelming and this brought about machine refurbishment and increased capacity as it maintained and sustained installed capacity,” he said.

He  commended  Chief Olusegun Obasanjo for his support for thmanufacturing sector in the country, saying that tariffs must be reduced or  removed to make Nigeria a manufacturing hub

“Remove the tariffs if you want this country to be truly a hub for manufacturing. Let us remove or reduce tariffs or what is called a customs duty. Let us look at Customs tariff and what we are paying on several items that could take us to self-sufficiency,” Chief Jamodu added

 Dangote Cement Plc has said yesterday that the price of its product per bag from the factory was between N2,450 in Obajana and Gboko, and N2,510 in Ibese, inclusive of VAT.

The clarification came against the backdrop recent insinuations that the company sells cement in Nigeria at significantly higher prices relative to other countries, particularly Ghana and Zambia.

Devakumar Edwin, Dangote’s Group Executive Director, Strategy, Portfolio Development & Capital Projects, disclosed this at a press conference in Lagos.

 He said  while a bag of cement sells for an equivalent of $5.1, including VAT in Nigeria, it sells for $7.2 in Ghana and $5.95 in Zambia ex-factory, inclusive of all taxes.

He emphasized the need to distinguish Dangote’s ex-factory prices from prices at which retailers sell cement in the market.

He faulted the intentional misinformation or demarketing allegedly sponsored by some individuals to the effect that Dangote sells its cement at higher prices in Nigeria relative to other African countries at the expense of Nigerians.

He described the allegation as false, misleading, and unfounded, and challenged the media to conduct independent investigation into the price of cement in some other African countries, including Cameroun, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Zambia.

‘’To ensure that we meet local demand, we had to suspend exports from our recently commissioned export terminals, thereby foregoing dollar earnings.

‘’We also had to reactivate our 4.5m ton capacity Gboko Plant which was closed 4 years ago and run it at a higher cost all in a bid to guarantee that we meet demand and keep the price of Cement within control in the country.”

“Over the past 15 months, our production costs have gone up significantly. About 50% of our costs are linked to USD so the cost of critical components like: gas, gypsum, bags, and spare parts; has increased significantly due to devaluation of the Naira and VAT increase. ‘’Despite this, DCP has not increased ex-factory prices since December 2019 till date while prices of most other building materials have gone up significantly.

‘’We have only adjusted our transport rates to account for higher costs of diesel, spare parts, tyres, and truck replacement. Still, we charge our customers only N300 – 350 per bag for deliveries within a 1,200km radius.We have been responsible enough not to even attempt to cash in on the recent rise in demand to increase prices so far’’, Devakumar said.

Hajiya Saratu Iya Aliyu,the National President of NACCIMA,has said that  the recent launch of the N50bn Export Expansion Facility Program (EEFP) and Grant Management Portal designed for accessing  the Export Development Fund (EDF) will increase inflow of  foreign exchange and expand the diversification of the nation’s  economy.

Iya Aliyu,who spoke in Lagos  advised medium and small scale enterprises  in Nigeria to take advantage of the facilities which will be processed through the System which was launched.

She assured that  her members  are being encouraged to tap into the opportunities under the Facility and called on other stakeholders to be part of the initiative which are some of the strategic options to pilot Nigeria out of recession and improve on recent gain.

She also commended government on the initiative and advocated the need  for efficient functioning of the digital  portal to enable prompt and efficient access of Funds under the facilities.

She described the launch of the digital management oortal as a practical positive step to ensure that MSMEs  across the country which are the back bones of the economy can access stimulus packages designed to save and create  jobs, as concerted efforts continue to help those of them impacted by COVID-19 pandemic get back on their feet .

She also noted that it was significant that  this was the first time that the EDF was being funded  since the creation of the NEPC Act;  and described the development as commendable.

Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, has tasked the newly appointed Executive Secretary of the National sugar Development Council (NSDC), Zach Adedeji to work towards the realisation of the Federal Government’s goal in ensuring self-sufficiency in sugar production.

He  spoke at the inauguration of Adedeji as the  boss  of the NSDC at the weekend in Abuja, where he also  said the Federal Government relied on him to work assiduously towards the realisation of the country’s self sufficiency in the sugar production.

He said  the appointment of Adedeji was based on his performance in his former positions, adding that the nation expected him to leave landmark achievements by the time he would be leaving office.

“You are therefore expected to discharge your duties in accordance with the rules and regulations as laid down in the Act establishing the council and other extant rules,”he said.

He urged him to create an atmosphere of a good working relationship with his staff, board and management to ensure a successful execution of his mandate.

In his remarks, Adedeji said Sugar is an important commodity in the global agricultural market, with an annual average production of 120.1 million tons, consumption of 118.1 million tons.

He said sugar is produced under a broad range of climatic conditions in some 120 countries and is one of the most heavily traded agricultural commodities.

The  Federal Government  has concluded a USD1billion syndicated term loan in conjunction with international partners to further support Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.

Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, explained that the  loan is aimed at “further improving the capacity of the bank to effectively support Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSME) – across key sectors of the Nigerian economy – with affordable loans of medium to long-term tenor, alongside moratorium benefits.”

Adebayo spoke  at the Quantum Mechanics Limited MSMEs Survival Fund Capacity Building Programme in Abuja, adding that  there is an ongoing discussion with Dunn & Bradstreet to establish an SME risk rating agency – the SME Rating Agency of Nigeria (SMERAN), to provide an empirical basis towards analysing the eligibility of SMEs to access credit.

He added: “I will like to reiterate that our Ministry fully supports MSMEs, as demonstrated by our MSME Survival Fund Initiative which was launched in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic by the Federal Government as part of the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP); aimed at protecting MSME businesses from the shocks the pandemic.

He added:”The Fund comprises the Payroll Support Scheme which aims to support MSMEs in meeting their payroll obligations and safeguard jobs by paying up to N50,000 to a maximum of 10 employees in each MSME for three months; the Artisan and Transport Grant which supports self-employed artisans with a one-off payment of N30,000 targeting 333,000 individuals,theb General MSME Grant which will provide 100,000 MSMEs with one-off grants of N50,000 each; and the  Guaranteed Offtake Scheme which will engage approximately 100,000 businesses across the country to produce items typically manufactured in their locality, targeting 300,000 beneficiaries.

He explained that the survival fund was estimated to save at least 1.3 million jobs across the country, while strengthening the growth potential of beneficiary businesses, stressing that the the successful implementation of the scheme so far has contributed immensely to quickly pulling Nigeria out of the Covid-19-induced recession

The Minister said the National MSMEs Clinics also support the growth of small businesses across the country through the provision of critical infrastructure, with twenty-six of such clinics having impressive results.