Affordable energy crucial to manufacturing growth – MAN president, Meshioye

<p>In this interview with EDIDIONG IKPOTO, the President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Francis Meshioye, talks about how manufacturing companies are affected by higher energy costs. among other issues</p>, <p>President Bola Tinubu recently signed an executive order for the suspension of the implementation of some new taxes contained in the Finance Act. What is the reaction of the manufacturing community to this?</p>, <p>In the first instance, I want to thank the President, Bola Tinubu, for this laudable step. It is laudable. I want to believe that the President has listening ears and is willing to support the masses and the development of the manufacturing industry in Nigeria, which is contributing to the growth of the economy. I want to salute him for his courage and willingness to see that things are done rightly.</p>, <p>He has said that the Act will not take effect until September, thereby, giving the necessary notification to all concerned. This is very good. It means that he is conscious of the regulations that were signed in 2017 that at any point in time, there would be a 90-day notice so that those concerned can get ready for the implementation of whatever expected change. Kudos to him on this.</p>, <p>After this, I’m trying to understand what was said by Dele Alake. He mentioned the Customs and Excise tariff as it affects tobacco products and alcoholic beverages as well as the one that involves single-use plastics. I thank the President because the green tax has been suspended. We spoke with the past administration that this should not come into effect. For the President to listen and say that he understands the plight of the manufacturers. This means that he has Nigerians in mind. This is very good.</p>, <p>The second one is the excise tax increase on alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. It is not clear whether this has been suspended. It was mentioned by Alake that the President was conscious of this, but he did clarify whether this would be suspended. Our prayer has been that this