Muideen Olaniyi
6 July 2009
Abuja — The Action Congress (AC) yesterday challenged the federal government to pay more attention to Nigeria's economy by giving huge tax breaks to manufacturing companies to alleviate the problems they face from huge energy costs.
Besides, the party said tariffs should be reviewed with a view to protecting local industries in view of the rising job losses from shut industries and the reported relocation of many manufacturing firms to Ghana.
AC, in a release by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the current low tariffs on imported goods encourage the importation of goods at the expense of local production.
It observed that the development had led to many industries either winding up altogether or producing at far below their installed capacities.
"Everywhere in the world, tariffs are employed as tools to shore up the domestic manufacturing sector, not to kill it! Nigeria seems to be the exception, as the low tariffs on imported goods here have turned Nigeria to a dumping ground for substandard goods, in addition to wiping off many local jobs," the party said.
Mohammed who said the power sector is a great disincentive to the manufacturing sector noted that the promise to raise the generation capacity to 6,000 megawatts by December 2009 had remained a mirage.
He voiced concern that President Yar'adua is not doing enough to help jumpstart the manufacturing sector which he regarded as key to Nigeria's dream of joining the top 20 economies in the world by the year 2020.
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