•Dr Emmanuel Iheagwazi
As Nigeria’s business economy continues to decline, manufacturers across the country are calling out to the federal government to intervene urgently to avert the total collapse of the sector.
Currently, the sector is lamenting on the harsh policies of the banking system, which is being claimed to be part of one of the areas responsible for the collapse of the manufacturing industry in Nigeria.
According to them, if actions are not taken by the government soon, unemployment will be loosely at large, reports Daily Independent.
Speaking about this is the CEO of NECIT Conglomerate, Dr Emmanuel Iheagwazi who raised the alarm on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, in a media briefing with journalists in Lagos.
Iheagwazi accused banks of practicing a new system of manipulating lending policy, order for borrowing and interest rate.
He specifically stated that presently his company is battling six banks over payment of interest rate, stating that he has paid up to 130 percent interest of rate to the banks.
He further stated that some of these banks insist that interest rates are being done in the current exchange rate, even though transactions relating to such business were sealed off several years ago with a specific fixed amount. Dealing at the current rate, he said, will only triple the said amount of interest.
“When we started it was a mere 2.5M deal but at the moment we are talking 16.5M. For an investment that has been long settled and forgotten.”
He also disclosed that his company, NECIT Conglomerate which deals on various productions but mostly are into varieties of lubricants, is finding it difficult to cope with the situation on ground.
He disclosed that 60 percent of raw materials needed for production in his company are sourced from abroad while 40 percent are sourced locally, thereby making them seek bank assistance in order to beat production.
According to him, sourcing for forex through the banks to procure raw materials was a Herculean task for manufacturers as, it is like an elephant passing through the eyes of a needle.
He explained that the policy for sourcing foreign currencies at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was difficult to do thereby frustrating efforts of manufacturing companies in the country.
He also voiced out how manufacturing companies are currently running at loss or are forced to shut down thereby churning out staff due to nonprofit in the business.
So, at the moment Iheagwazi is crying out to the government to be of assistance to the manufacturing industry, as the banking system isn’t helping the growth of the industry.
“Currently, I have a workforce of over 2,500 staff, I don’t know what I will do if the banks continue to frustrate our every move because if this continues we won’t have a choice but to shut down and layoff workers, which will not be good for both the company and country in a whole,” he concluded.
