Taiwo Hassan 
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) are worried that the continued flaunting of the Federal Government’s Executive Order 003 by ministries, department and agencies (MDAs) on patronage of madein- Nigeria products is sending wrong signals to the country’s manufacturing sector development. MAN said it was worrisome that since four years ago when President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Executive Order 003 into law, mandating all MDAs to give first choice to made in Nigeria products in public procurements, only a few of them have keyed into it.
Consequently, the association is suggesting to the Federal Government, as a matter of urgency, to consider strengthening the Executive Order 003 by making it justiciable through legislation to ensure that all government establishments procure available Nigerian products first before sourcing from other countries. This, if adequately monitored and enforced by government, according to MAN, will spur manufacturing and also boost capacity utilisation of many manufacturing firms,including employment generation in the country. MAN President, Mansur Ahmed, an engineer, stated in an interview with New Telegraph in Lagos that there was no perceptible monitoring and evaluation procedure to enforce adherence by MDAs to the Executive Order 003.
Ahmed explained that the general thinking among stakeholders in the manufacturing sector had always been that government establishments do not adhere to the Order during procurement and that was corroborated by the responses of manufacturers during the spot fieldwork report. According to him, the country’s manufacturing sector needs the unflinching support of all government MDAs to realise the success and achievement of made-in-Nigeria products in the country post-COVID-19 to boost trade and revenue generation in all areas.
He said: “On the patronage of Nigerian manufactured products, the Federal Government had created the Executive 003 in recognition of the need for government establishments to give first choice to made-in-Nigeria products in public procurements.
“However, there is no perceptible monitoring and evaluation procedure to enforce adherence by MDAs to the Executive Order.” The MAN president continued: “The general thinking has always been that government establishments do not adhere to the Order during procurement and that was corroborated by the responses of manufacturers during the fieldwork of the report.” According to him, “a MAN re-port carried out on compliance and adherence by all government MDAs on made-in-Nigeria products in the country showed that 42 per cent respondents disagreed that patronage of Nigerian manufactured products by government ministries, department and agencies improved in the quarter under review. “Only 28 per cent of respondents agreed while 30 per cent simply are not sure.
Ahmed, however, stated: “It is, therefore, important for government to consider strengthening the Executive Order by making it justiciable through legislation to ensure that all government establishments procure available Nigerian products first before sourcing from other countries.” Meanwhile, the Minister of In-dustry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Richard Adeniyi Adebayo, told New Telegraph that to push Nigeria’s trade activities and prospects, “we must support locally manufactured goods.
“It is in this regard our government signed Executive Order 003 in 2017 and several campaigns have been launched to create necessary awareness and momentum. “Once again, I want to use this medium to call for collaboration between Federal Government agencies and state governments towards this end. “The cooperation of all of us as patriotic Nigeria as well as that of our friends around the world will be required to achieve our targets.”
