No less than 767 producers shut down enterprise, whereas 335 grew to become distressed in 2023.
The Producers Affiliation of Nigeria, MAN, Director Basic, Ajayi Kadiri, disclosed this in a current assertion whereas reacting to the hardship within the nation and the just lately launched Expatriate Employment Levy by the Federal Authorities.
reporter remembers that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu unveiled the EEL handbook final week Tuesday, which is able to see a levy of between $10,000 to $15,000 on employers that make use of expatriates in Nigeria.
Nevertheless, MAN condemned the introduction of EEL regardless of the prevalence of hardship attributable to hovering inflation that producers in Nigeria grapple with.
The Affiliation stated the unintended unfavorable penalties on the manufacturing sector are humongous and can’t be accommodated throughout the financial downturn.
“The imposition of EEL probably impacts the manufacturing sector and the financial system at massive.
“This can, in flip, mark an unwarranted and unprecedented addition to the price of doing enterprise in Nigeria, particularly to producers. The manufacturing sector is already beset with multidimensional challenges. In 2023, 335 manufacturing firms grew to become distressed and 767 shut down.
“Stock of unsold completed merchandise has elevated to N350bn, and the actual development has dropped to 2.4 per cent,” it stated.
reporter remembers that for the reason that elimination of gasoline subsidies and the floating of the Naira in June final yr, Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, has continued to expertise an inflation hike, which stood at 29.90 per cent in January 2024.
