The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on Wednesday charged Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, to focus on reviving the power sector, stabilise the Naira at the exchange market and address the soaring pump price of petrol and diesel.
Okwara Udensi, chairman, MAN, Edo/Delta branch, in an interview with BusinessDay in Benin City on expectations from the newly-elected president, said these factors, if prioritised, would significantly resolve the issues hurting businesses across the country and boost the nation’s economy.
Udensi lamented that the cost of production is taking a huge toll on manufacturers and pushing people out of business.
According to him, “one of the major problems we are facing is power. Bola Tinubu needs to look at ways to find solutions to the power problems so as to better run the economy. More so, he should stabilise the exchange rate as we have resorted to black market which costs a lot because we can’t get an exchange rate to import our goods.
“The rising prices of fuel and diesel are also a thing of concern. Before now, we normally used N300,000 to transport goods but this has increased to N800,000. These are things that help our businesses andshould be treated as important,” Udensi added.
Speaking on the outcome of the election, he expressed worry over the electoral process and noted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) gave Nigerians confidence that the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) would be the basis for the election but deviated from the principles.
“For me, I am not bothered about who has won the election because all of us are Nigerians and they are capable of ruling us, but I am bothered about the process,” he said.
For Bright Oniovokukor, project manager, Indomitable Youth Organisation, the electoral body fell short of expectations and he urged the president-elect to match words with actions.
“The announcement of the result takes our mind back to ask, what did Tinubu even promise us? What is the content of his manifestos? Since he struggled to get the votes, will he be ready to go the extra mile to deliver on his manifesto?” he queried.
