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The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Ogun State Branch, has urged the state government to harmonise multiple taxes and regulatory charges, warning that the current business environment was increasing production costs and discouraging investment.
The association also called on the government to revive its quarterly engagement forum with manufacturers to strengthen collaboration and address operational challenges affecting industries.
The outgoing Chairman of MAN in the state George Onafowokan, made the appeal on Thursday during the association’s 41st Annual General Meeting in Abeokuta, themed “Building a Resilient Manufacturing Sector: Surmounting the Challenges of Fiscal and Regulatory Policies and Tariffs.”
Onafowokan said manufacturers were grappling with exchange rate volatility, inflation, rising energy costs, high lending rates, multiple taxation and an increasingly burdensome regulatory environment.
While acknowledging that recent economic reforms had improved government revenue, he noted that they had also increased the cost of doing business.
He described energy as one of the biggest obstacles to industrial competitiveness, saying rising electricity tariffs and unreliable public power supply had forced manufacturers to depend heavily on self-generated electricity, significantly increasing production costs.
Onafowokan also identified limited access to foreign exchange for the importation of raw materials, machinery and industrial inputs as a major challenge affecting manufacturers across the country.
While commending Governor Dapo Abiodun’s administration for investments in infrastructure, security and improving the ease of doing business, Onafowokan said industries in Ogun State were still burdened by multiple regulatory demands, rising logistics costs and infrastructure deficiencies.
He urged the state government to institutionalise consultations with MAN and other organised private sector groups before introducing new taxes, levies, regulations or legislation affecting businesses, noting that regular engagement would produce better-informed policies and improve implementation.
The MAN chairman also appealed to the government to revive the quarterly interactive forum between the association and relevant ministries, departments and agencies, describing it as an effective platform for resolving operational challenges and strengthening government-industry collaboration.
Onafowokan expressed concern over increasing regulatory pressures from environmental agencies, saying manufacturers had received demand notices for water extraction fees, recycling licence fees, air pollution compliance devices and other charges whose legal basis remained unclear.
He warned that some factories had been threatened with closure or shut down over alleged non-compliance, disrupting production, endangering jobs and weakening investor confidence. He called for better coordination among regulatory agencies to ensure transparent and harmonised enforcement.
Despite the challenges, Onafowokan said manufacturers had continued to demonstrate resilience through increased local sourcing of raw materials, technology adoption, renewable energy investments and improved operational efficiency, stressing that resilience alone could not sustain industrial growth without government support.
Representing Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Commissioner for Industries, Trade and Investment, Adebola Sofela, acknowledged the concerns raised by manufacturers and assured them that the state government was already addressing many of the issues
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