Prioritise Productivity Reforms To Revive Manufacturing, Onafowokan Tells FG

LAGOS – As the key drivers of econom­ic growth include labour, cap­ital, and how efficiently these two resources are used, the Managing Director of Cole­man Wires and Cables, Mr. George Onafowokan, has called on the Federal Govern­ment to prioritise productivi­ty reforms to revive manufac­turing sector. While expressing his views on the impact of the naira’s depletion on manufacturers, in his recent interview, he emphasised that the appre­ciation of the naira would not bring immediate gains to manufacturers, as buyers held back on purchases, wait­ing for the currency to contin­ue to strengthen.

“This led to a waiting game, with speculators hop­ing to profit from the situa­tion”, he said. Although we have now seen Naira devaluation in the last two weeks, Onafowokan believes that the naira will appreciate and recover, cit­ing the government’s efforts to stabilise the economy, in­cluding the return of Foreign Portfolio Investors with over 20 percent interest rate on the Federal Government Bond and Treasury rates. He also highlighted the re­habilitation of refineries and other initiatives that indicate Nigeria is open for business, not speculation.



Onafowokan, emphasised the need for policies that sup­port manufacturers, such as fiscal policies and benefits for the industry. He noted that the Manufac­turers Association of Nigeria (MAN) is pushing for these policies to ensure manufac­turers remain in business. When asked about the turning point, Onafowok.