50,000 Workers Sacked In Abuja, 10 Companies Set To Close Down As Forex Exchange Continue To Bite Harder.
The scarcity of foreign exchange for importation of raw materials by local industries is adversely affecting the sector as over 50,000 workers have lost their jobs in Abuja in the last two months.
The President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Tony
Ejinkeonye, confirmed the job losses in an exclusive interview with our
correspondent in Abuja.
Similarly, the President, Manufacturers Association
of Nigeria, Mr. Frank Jacobs, said that about 10 companies had formally
notified the association about their intention to shut down operations
before the end of this month.
Ejinkeonye said that except something urgent is done by the Federal
Government to address the forex exchange problem, more people could
lose their jobs.
“Currently, in Abuja, we have about 50,000 workers that have lost
their jobs in the last two months. I must confess this is not a good
time for the manufacturing sector,” he said.
He said majority of manufacturers operating in Abuja could no
longer access foreign exchange to import raw materials, adding that
those who managed to get forex from the black market could not sell
their products as consumers could not pay the high prices.
He said, “As manufacturers and industrialists, the scarcity of
foreign exchange has affected us in the area of raw materials that need
to be imported. We cannot access foreign exchange anymore to import raw
materials.
“Also, maintenance of some of these facilities has become a problem
because the spare parts have to be imported and the inability to get
foreign exchange to import them has impacted negatively on our
operations.
“Some of our members who are manufacturers have even gone to the
extreme of withdrawing their goods from the market and need to increase
their prices to reflect the high foreign exchange rate. Many of us are
having the problem of retaining our workers because the production is
being hampered by lack of raw materials.”
The ACCI president said the situation had become so bad that even
big manufacturing companies such as Unilever Nigeria Plc, Dangote
Cement, Air France and Emirate Airlines were having problem getting
foreign exchange.
He stressed the need for the Federal Government to come up with a comprehensive approach that would address the problem.
He said, “There is a need for government to do something urgently
and stop living in denial. The Central Bank of Nigeria and the Ministry
of Finance should come out and say something that would move us out of
this forex crisis.
“Things are really bad. As I’m talking to you now, Unilever,
Dangote Cement and our other members are crying. A lot of companies have
also threatened to lay off workers. If something urgent is not done
within the next 30 days by the government to address this, you will see
companies like Dangote and Unilever Nigeria sacking some of their
workers.”
Ejinkeonye added, “Airlines like Air France and Emirates are really
having very serious problems now in taking back their foreign
earnings.”
The MAN president said about 10 companies had indicated its plan to close shop before the end of the month.
He said with each of these companies employing an average of 200
people, a total of 2,000 workers would be affected if they decided to
shut down their operations.
He said, “A number of our companies have formally written to us
that they are going to close shop. Currently, we have about 10 companies
that have written us informing us that they are running out of raw
materials and that by the end of this month, they may close down.
“We do know that it is going to be more towards the end of the
first quarter because many of them that have raw materials that can’t
replenish them are likely to shut down.”
Jacobs called on the government to revisit the ban on 41 items from
accessing the forex from the official window, especially items
considered essential raw materials for manufacturing.
He said, “Many companies that have applied for foreign exchange for
even those items that are not on the 41 ban list are finding it
difficult to access foreign exchange from the central bank. So, we are
calling on the CBN to make foreign exchange available for essential raw
materials.”
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