PHCCIMA Faults Govt Policies On Manufacturing Sector

In view of the seeming
endless plunges witnessed in the Nigerian Manufacturing sector, there have been consensus among stakeholders that government is majorly responsible for  dwindling fortunes of the sector following ineffective and impressive policies for the sector.
The PHCCIMA chairman Engr Emeka Unachukwu, who made this assertion during an Entrepreneurial Forum programme put together by Airtel in conjunction with the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce and VTB Consulting, decried the harsh policies of government saying, “Our problem is on manufacturing because we have everything to be a strong manufacturing nation but we are not; basically because of government policy and poor infrastructure.
According to him, manufacturers and entrepreneurs are forced to ‘private position’, a situation where they provide electricity, water and everything on their own and noted that this will not make them competitive.
The Entrepreneurship Forum was attended by over 600 entrepreneurs, potential youth entrepreneurs from across the Niger Delta region.
Unachukwu in his presentation maintained: “It is easy for you to import your products than to manufacture here”, stating the need for government to put some policies that would encourage manufacturing, so as to make it competitive and strong based.
Finally he called on the Nigerian youths to take up the challenge of freeing themselves from the shackle of unemployment by taking bold steps towards creating jobs for themselves and others through entrepreneurship.
Chief Executive Officer of Visible Impact, Fela Durotoye, one of the guest speakers at the event said that Nigeria is blessed with all the mineral resources including human capital which can make it great but regretted that leadership has continued to pose a serious problem.
He lamented the heavy reliance on oil to the neglect of over 34 untapped mineral resources which the country is endowed with.