MY VISIT TO THE MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA Today, I honoured the invitation of the newly inaugurated President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Eric Okoye, and other former Presidents of the Association to attend his inauguration ceremony at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos. On the sidelines of the event, I interacted with the new President and members of MAN and reiterated the enormous potential of Nigeria’s manufacturing sector. With the right government policies, an enabling business environment, and stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors, Nigeria can significantly increase the contribution of manufacturing to our GDP. Manufacturing currently contributes about 7.5% of Nigeria’s GDP, compared with about 14% in Egypt, 15% in Morocco, 25% in Vietnam, 19% in Indonesia, and 20% in Bangladesh We must therefore deliberately move from a consumption-driven economy to a productive economy, one that produces, creates jobs, adds value and competes successfully in the global market. A stronger manufacturing sector will expand employment opportunities, strengthen our productive capacity, reduce our dependence on imports, increase exports, and improve the standard of living of our people. I congratulate the new President and his team and wish them a successful and productive tenure. I look forward to continued engagement with the manufacturing sector as we work towards building a more productive and prosperous Nigeria. A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO