Lagos — Manufactures and members of the organised private sector have commended the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, for the N150 billion bailout package for the real sector of the economy.

They said the initiative was timely and would bring manufacturing business back to life.

President of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Bashir Borodo, said the N150 billion lifeline would stimulate growth, thereby increasing productivity in the sector.

He said the incentive alone would not tackle the economic woes facing the industry, but would boost production capacity in various aspects.

Borodo said the challenges facing the manufacturing sector were enormous, ranging from lack of infrastructure to cash crunch and even closure of companies.

"We commend the efforts of the CBN and beleive that government wiil address infrastructural development holistically. We beleive that the plan is part of measures by the CBN to deepen the contributions of the non-oil sector, particularly the manufacturing sector, to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

"We know that the bailout will stimulate activities in the industry, including new businesses as well as the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). But we are calling on the government to create a condusive environment for the industry to grow rapidly."

He said records showed that a greater number of MAN's members currently out of business were mostly textile manufacturers.

"Aside from the textile sub-sector, the industry generally is not maximising output as expected, due to epileptic power supply which constitutes a major impediment to the growth of the sector."

Borodo noted that manufacturers were the worst hit by the power problem, because they spend so much in generating their own power for their operations.