CHAIRMAN of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in the Southwest, Mr. Lanre Popoola, said the difficult in the operations of manufacturers had been has been compounded by the recent fuel pump price increase.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Friday, September 6,
Popoola decried how difficult it has been to operate manufacturing firms on full scale under the current economic hardship.
He said that MAN was already facing difficulties before the increase in the price of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol, saying it was unfortunate that amid the increase and instability in the economy, the Federal Government expected the private sectors to implement N70,000 new national minimum wage.
“Can we increase salary now? No! We are in a dilemma,” he said.
According to him, the sector has been plagued with economic challenges, such as inflation and the devaluation of Naira, amid forex scarcity, adding: “The present hard situation in the country has been worsened by the fuel increment with no respite in sight.
“It has been difficult to operate manufacturing industries on full scale. Even before the fuel increment, and now that the worst has happened, it has been difficult to operate under the economic hardship.”
