To safeguard Nigeria’s economy and avert widespread factory
closures amid the potential economic fallout of the US-Iran conflict, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has called on the Federal Government to implement a framework compelling domestic mega-refineries to prioritise the supply of refined fuels and petrochemicals to local manufacturers at discounted, non-import-parity rates.
MAN also urged the Federal Government to rapidly scale up and subsidise the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative, with a focus on manufacturing clusters and heavy-duty logistics, to reduce the sector’s dependence on imported diesel.
In addition, the association called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to establish a dedicated and prioritised foreign exchange window for manufacturers importing critical raw materials and machinery, thereby shielding them from speculative market volatility.
To cushion the impact of rising transportation costs, MAN further recommended that all tiers of government introduce an immediate six-month moratorium on discretionary highway levies, haulage taxes and multiple transit tolls that currently increase the cost of distributing manufactured goods.
The association made these recommendations in a position paper outlining the potential geoeconomic consequences of the conflict and proposing a strategic roadmap to mitigate its impact.
The paper, titled “Position of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria on the Implications of the US-Iranian Crisis for the Manufacturing Sector,” warned that the conflict could undermine Nigeria’s hard-won macroeconomic gains.
MAN noted that the risks come at a time when annual inflation had eased to 15.10 per cent and manufacturing capacity utilisation had begun to recover above the 60 per cent threshold.
However, it cautioned that despite the crisis unfolding thousands of miles away, disruptions to global shipping routes and energy markets could deliver significant economic shocks to Nigeria’s manufacturing sector.