Continued Border Closure Not Sustainable, MAN Says

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has said that the continued closure of the country’s land borders is unsustainable as many genuine businesses are suffering, and some are at the verge of shutting down.

The Director- General, MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said this on Tuesday at a ‘Stakeholders forum on impact of border closure on Nigeria’s economy’ organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry in partnership with the Centre for International Private Enterprise.

Ajayi-Kadir who was represented by MAN’s director of corporate affairs, Mr Ambrose Obruche, said some members of the association complained that their businesses were suffering.

He said such businesses especially in food and tobacco industry spent more money to import their raw materials and export their finished goods within the West African sub region.

While the MAN’s DG noted that it acknowledged that the closure on August 20, 2019 had started having positive impacts, it warned that there were other negative effects on the economy.

He said, “While a section like the agriculture (poultry and rice farmers) had benefitted from the border closure, we want to say the border closure is not sustainable on a long term.

“Some of our members in the food, beverage and tobacco industry, and those in paper and roofing sheet production are complaining that their businesses are being affected negatively.”