The Minister of State for Industry, Trade, and Investment, Senator Owan Enoh, has pledged to engage with the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, regarding the $2.4 billion in foreign exchange forward contracts.
Enoh made this disclosure on Wednesday at the the first stakeholders’ town hall meeting with key representatives from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, and other members of the Organized Private Sector over concerns about the delayed settlement of $2.4 billion in foreign exchange forward contracts.
The town hall meeting aimed to foster collaboration, promote inclusivity, and initiate transformative conversations to drive Nigeria’s industrial growth.
Enoh said, “There are the N2.4bn contracts due to the industry that the CBN is keeping, which is regarded as a breach of contract. As early as next week, I will begin to get in touch with the governor of the Central Bank to have discussions on this.
“I’m not a person who would come to a session like this and not take action. I’m going to see the CBN governor on this and I will share the outcome with MAN and OPS.”
Responding to the presentations from the President of the MAN, Francis Meshioye, and a presentation by the association’s Director-General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, which outlined key challenges and recommendations for the sector, Enoh stated “We are going to articulate some of the things that have been shared via the Industrial Revolution Workgroup, which will have to be put in place. That is a multi-stakeholder group and will be co-chaired by me and the President of MAN with different stakeholders like NACCIMA and others.”
According to the minister, the government will carefully review the challenges highlighted in the presentations by MAN and work collaboratively with stakeholders to identify practical solutions.
He emphasized that the group would focus on tackling these issues systematically to create a more conducive environment for industrial growth and sustainable economic development.
“This group will periodically meet and consult with others. In this way, this larger forum, for me would not meet once a year, we are in such a condition that we should inaugurate this to take place quarterly.
“I’m aware this is happening now in December, another one should take place in the next three months and it should benefit from the set-up of this workgroup, what little that they may have done, to be able to progress that has been made,” he added.
Enoh further stated that a dedicated working group would be convened before the end of December. This team will comprise members drawn from various strategic partners in the industry, ensuring a diverse and inclusive approach to addressing the challenges facing the manufacturing and industrial sectors.
He stressed “I imagine that the textile industry is dead and it shouldn’t be. If you look back, that industry employed a lot of Nigerians. We need to see what we can do to resuscitate that sector.
“I was reading some documents about moribund industries and the various attempts that had been made and to what extent we can consolidate on that. Are they working? Are there some matters of policies and is the Nigerian textile industry made to compete unequally? These are some of the things that we need to tackle. We need to return to where we were, not just in the textile industry.”
Meanwhile, Ajayi-Kadir, earlier emphasized the $2.4 billion FX forward contracts as a significant challenge affecting the real sector.
He noted that the delayed settlement of these contracts has disrupted manufacturing operations, hindered access to raw materials, and increased production costs, thereby threatening the sector’s sustainability and competitiveness.
“There is a $2.4bn that the CBN is obliged to fulfil, a contract that it is obliged to redeem, and manufacturers are heavily impacted. By the continuing delay of CBN in honouring that contract, some of our members have been exposed to losses and we don’t know when this will stop. When it doesn’t stop, we are not going to have any remediation, and it is critically important that we put a stop to this bleeding,” Ajayi-Kadir said.
He also urged the minister to ensure that colleagues, and MDAs all patronise made-in-Nigeria goods, saying, “We need to patronise made-in-Nigeria products; so we must make it a priority for ministries, departments, and agencies of government to do so.
“Minister, I’m sure this will be one of your major challenges, but you should not be at peace with your colleagues who refuse to buy made-in-Nigeria products and help our economy.”
In his address, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Professor Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, pointed out that some raw materials available in Nigeria are being imported due to a lack of awareness among importers about their local availability.
This practice not only increases production costs for manufacturers but also adds unnecessary pressure on the naira exchange rate.
