The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has elected Dr Ifeanyi Okoye, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Juhel Nigeria Limited, as its 12th president.

Okoye who emerged winner of the association’s leadership following the election at MAN’s 54th Annual General Meeting held last week, succeeded Francis Meshioye, who completed his four-year tenure.

MAN Director-General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, announced Okoye’s emergence in a statement made available to The Tide source on Friday.

Okoye, who founded Juhel Nigeria Limited in 1987, leads a wholly indigenous pharmaceutical manufacturing company headquartered in Enugu State.

The company expanded its operations over the years, moving to its permanent site in Emene, Enugu, in December 1989 before adding syrup and capsule production facilities in 2001. It opened a major parenteral manufacturing facility in Awka, Anambra State, in 2010.

The new MAN president holds a pharmacy degree from the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, as well as master’s and doctorate degrees in Pharmaceutical Technology and Industrial Pharmacy from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he graduated as the best student in his class.

He is a Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria and an alumnus of Harvard Business School in the United States. He is also a member of the National Institute, having attended the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, Plateau State.

The Federal Government conferred the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic on him in 2012.

Okoye has also served on several public-sector committees, including the Ministerial Committee on the Establishment of World-Class Hospitals and Diagnostic Centres between 2013 and 2015.

He served on the Governing Council of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria from 2009 to 2022.

His election followed decades of involvement in MAN’s activities, including his service as chairman of the association’s Enugu, Anambra and Ebonyi states branches between 1998 and 2005.

He subsequently served as the association’s vice-president from 2006 to 2010 before emerging as its national president.

His emergence comes as Nigerian manufacturers continue to contend with high production costs, infrastructure deficits, foreign exchange pressures, and other constraints affecting industrial competitiveness.

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), has called on indigenous oil and gas companies to strengthen their capacity and competitiveness in order to thrive in the international markets.

To this end, the Board has said it has identified “access-to-assets”, financing, technology, and markets as critical drivers of sustainable growth.

The Board’s General Manager, Corporate Communications, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, made the appeal while Speaking at the 2026 Energy Conference of the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC), held last week in Lagos.

He noted that the conference theme; ”Access to Assets: empowering players and driving growth” resonates with the objectives of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, which was designed to create meaningful opportunities for Nigerians to participate and excel in the industry.

Dr. Ezeobi emphasised that the Nigerian Content 10-Year Strategic Roadmap, launched in 2017, was built on five core pillars and four enabling factors with the ambitious goal of raising local content participation to 70 percent by 2027.

According to him, the roadmap also seeks to expand access to critical assets for skilled Nigerian professionals, while strengthening the capacity and competitiveness of indigenous operating and service companies.

The NCDMB’S General Manager, Corporate Communications highlighted several of the Board’s flagship interventions that have enabled Nigerian firms to build capacity, secure financing, and gain greater access to opportunities across the oil and gas value chain.

The Chief among the flagship initiatives of the NCDMB, according to him is the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund), noting that over 130 indigenous companies have accessed more than US$400 million through the Fund, which he stated was domiciled with the Bank of Industry and NEXIM Bank.

Ezeobi also referenced Project 100, an initiative designed to support high-potential indigenous companies through capacity development, market access, financial linkages, and tailored business support.

“Other key programme of the NCDMB geared towards giving access to assets in the oil and gas sector include, the Nigerian Content Equipment Certification (NCEC), the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGaPS), and vendor development initiatives.

“All of these initiatives were aimed at deepening local participation and strengthening the competitiveness of Nigerian firms. The NCDMB is facilitating partnerships between Nigerian and foreign companies.

“We’re also promoting regional collaboration to help local businesses expand beyond national borders. We’re satisfied that Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry has grown from just 5 percent in 2010 to 61 percent after 16 years of implementing the Nigerian Content Act”, he said.

The Board’s Corporate Communications boss, stressed however that the next phase of the NCDMB was focused on equipping indigenous companies with the skills, technology, and business systems required to compete globally.

In his welcome address, NAEC Chairman, Ugo Amadi called for expanded opportunities for indigenous companies to acquire and develop oil and gas assets, identifying high entry costs, funding constraints, and lengthy approval processes as major barriers.

In his remarks, Chairman, Petroleum Technology Assocation of Nigeria(PETAN), Engr. Wole Ogunsanya, underscored the need for consolidation and stronger collaboration among indigenous oilfield service companies to enable them pool technical capabilities and execute larger projects.

Also speaking, the Conference Chairman and Group Managing Director of Sahara Power Enterprise Group, Mr. Kola Adesina, represented by Head of Corporate Communications, Bethel Obioma, emphasised that access must extend beyond ownership to include capital, partnerships, markets, technology, and opportunities.

He stressed that “access” was actually much greater and more important than “assets,” noting that every transformational journey begins with access to ideas, mentors, capital, and partnerships before physical assets.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas),  Ekperikpe Ekpo, represented by his Senior Technical Adviser, Engr. Abel Nsa stressed that Nigeria must move beyond mere ownership of its vast gas resources to their development, financing, and conversion into sustainable economic value.

The Minister explained that the Federal Government’s Decade of Gas initiative seeks to transform Nigeria from a resource-rich nation into one that leverages gas for industrialisation, power generation, transportation, manufacturing, fertilizer production, LPG adoption, and other productive uses that drive economic growth.

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa