New MAN president pledges collaboration with FG on competitiveness

The new president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Engr. Ahmed Mansur, has pledged to boost the competitiveness of the domestic manufacturing sector through greater collaboration with the Federal Government.

Speaking at the association’s 46th annual general meeting held in Lagos, he applauded Executive Order 003, which aims to increase the level of patronage of made-in-Nigeria goods by public procurement agencies.

Engr. Mansur, who is also an Executive Director of Dangote Industries Limited, stated that Order 003 showed that the present administration is serious in building local productive capacity, adding, “we will work with the Federal Government to ensure that the Nigerian manufacturing sector is competitive.”

He reiterated his commitment to strengthen the association’s level of collaboration and interaction with the Federal Government to ensure that Executive Order 003 was fully implemented to boost local patronage of made-in-Nigeria products.

He said MAN would continue to engage all the Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to showcase made-in-Nigeria goods. “When this contact is made, we would encourage its members to compete both in terms of price and quality. I believe if we continue to work with the government in this manner, we would bridge the gap between us and the public sector requirements,” he said.

He, however, appealed to government to provide the necessary basic infrastructure in a bid to bring down the cost of production for manufacturers in the country, saying that the impact would be massive on the real sector of the economy.

He said the association has kickstarted the partnership by presenting a compendium of all its members to showcase to the Federal Government all the locally produced goods in the country.