The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has identified the revival of abandoned industries and improvements in infrastructure as key steps that could strengthen Abia State’s manufacturing base and expand employment opportunities.
The association made the assessment when its Abia/Imo and Rivers/Bayelsa chapter chairmen visited Governor Alex Otti at his office in Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of the state.
Chairman of the Abia/Imo chapter of MAN, Prince Obasi Ekeagbara, said the return of some dormant industrial facilities to production was already changing the business environment in the state.
He specifically mentioned the Enyimba Garment Factory, Star Paper Mill and Afro Beverages among industries that had benefited from the administration’s interventions, while commending the government for investments in roads, electricity, transportation, education, healthcare and urban renewal.
Ekeagbara also pointed to dedicated electricity arrangements involving Geometric Power as an important development for manufacturers, given the sector’s longstanding exposure to high energy costs.
Beyond infrastructure, he commended the state government for harmonising taxes to reduce multiple taxation and facilitating a N10 billion Bank of Industry credit facility for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The MAN chairman, however, said manufacturers continued to contend with high energy costs, limited access to foreign exchange, inflation, inadequate funding and insecurity, as well as what he described as unauthorised financial demands from host communities.
He urged the state government to extend its industrial revival programme, establish industrial clusters across the three senatorial districts and strengthen measures against unauthorised levies.
He also called for greater involvement of MAN in programmes designed to restore distressed industries to full production.
Responding, Otti said his administration was deliberately trying to move Abia’s economy away from excessive dependence on consumption and trading towards production and manufacturing.
“We want to encourage production. While technology could transform the processes of doing business, what you cannot replace is manufacturing. You can replace the process, you can replace the mode, but you must have manufacturing,” the governor said.
Otti said investments in infrastructure, healthcare, education and other sectors were being pursued partly to create conditions for businesses to expand and increase production.
He identified electricity and access to capital as major areas requiring sustained intervention and said the government was exploring alternative power sources to provide more reliable electricity for industries.
The governor also urged manufacturers to take advantage of the N10 billion Bank of Industry facility and other available interventions to expand production.
“If there is anything this government can do to help you, don’t hesitate to ask,” he told the manufacturers, while reiterating that his administration had no policy of multiple taxation.
Otti cautioned manufacturers against making cash payments to unauthorised persons and challenged them to improve the quality, packaging and competitiveness of locally produced goods.
He cited the state’s Export Growth Lab initiative, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as part of efforts to help businesses improve their products and compete in wider markets.
“Whatever you are doing, do it well. Let it compete. Don’t do fake. Put your name on it,” Otti said.
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of Libracin Natural Medicine Industry Ltd and MAN member, Dr Anyatonwu Azubuike, expressed support for the administration’s industrial policies and said manufacturers in Abia and Imo had experienced a more favourable operating environment.
He also declared the association’s support for Otti’s bid for a second term in 2027.
The meeting ultimately placed the focus on a central challenge for Abia’s economy: whether improvements in infrastructure, power, finance and the business environment can translate into sustained industrial production, stronger local enterprises and more jobs.
