- Manufacturers Hail Obaseki for Edo State Local Production Capabilities
By Ken Afor
Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has counseled on the need for all to join hands in boosting local manufacturing Capabilities in Nigeria in order to enhance our country’s manufacturing base.
The governor said such efforts will help in addressing the current foreign exchange difficulties. According to him, there should also be measures to t incentivize local manufacturing and facilitation of access to credit for exporters.
The governor made these remarks during a meeting with the National President of the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN), Otunba Francis Meshioye, and other executives, who paid a courtesy visit to the Government House in Benin City.
Obaseki highlighted the crucial role of the manufacturing sector in sustaining the nation’s economy and underscored Edo State’s commitment to leveraging its abundant raw materials for economic development through production and manufacturing activities.
According to the Governor, the country is in short of sufficient foreign exchange due to overdependence on imported goods and services.
The governor said that this can be mitigated when the country consumes what it manufactures domestically.
He called on the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to lead in steering the country towards manufacturing.
He said: “Nigeria in the last 40 years has continued to rely on imported goods and services that they don’t produce. We have got to a point where we must consume what we manufacture in this nation because we don’t have foreign exchange. We don’t export any manufactured goods as a nation and MAN has a role to help by redirecting the country towards manufacturing.”
On the contribution of the state to boosting local production, Governor Obaseki noted that Edo State has the largest oil palm development program in Africa.
He said: “The state, through the Edo State Oil Palm Program (ESOPP), allocated 70,000 hectares of land to seven investors for oil palm cultivation.”
Since the launch of ESOPP in 2019, investment in the state’s oil palm sector has totaled $560 million.
Earlier, the National President of MAN, Meshioye, lauded the governor for his significant achievements in boosting Edo’s economy, positioning the state as a prime destination for private sector investments.
