The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has called on the Lagos State Government to bring an end to the incessant harassment of manufacturers by louts, popularly called agberos.
The Director-General of the Association, Segun Ajayi-Kadir stated this during his remarks at the Annual General Meeting of the Ikeja Branch of the Manufacturers Association.
According to him, there was a need for a deeper relationship between manufacturers and the government to foster economic prosperity in the state.
He also called for payment rebate, a bi-annual consultative forum, one stop registration of vehicles particulars, beefed up security in the state, and harmonised regulation fee.
Ajayi-Kadir said, “We are also appealing for the provision of a central sewage system either by the state government or by public/private partnerships, and also call for the abolishment of the use of louts to harass vehicles on the roads.”
In his remarks, President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Francis Meshioye, stated that the shared vision of the association could only be achieved through meaningful collaborations.
Meshioye said that to navigate through a rapidly growing landscape, it had become pertinent to imbibe sustainability and resilience.
“In terms of collaboration, we also need to extend collaboration to academia. Whether it is innovating infrastructure or enhancing policy framework, collaboration is the main quota that we must imbibe and manufacturers.
“I’m excited about the prospect that lies ahead of us so it is important that we seize the opportunity to drive collaboration for positive change.
“Together, as we contribute significantly to the growth of the economy of our beloved country, we must jointly address the issues around regulatory and policy bottlenecks, and other ambiguities.
Delivering a keynote address titled “Unlocking Nigeria’s Manufacturing Sector Potential: Collaborating for Success Across Ecosystem,” an economist, Paul Alaje stressed that collaboration was essential to unlocking the next level of industrialisation in the country.