Industry minister to engage CBN over $2.4bn FX forward contracts
Enoh, has promised to engage the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, over the $2.4bn foreign exchange forward contracts.
Enoh said this on Wednesday at the first stakeholders’ town hall meeting with representatives from the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria, Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association other members of the Organised Private Sector, in response to the real sector’s stakeholders’ lamentation on how the delay in settling at the FX forward contracts had impacted their operations.
The meeting was the minister’s first engagement with the industry stakeholders since he came into office in October.
The meeting was aimed at fostering more collaboration, promoting inclusivity and initiating transformative conversations for Nigeria’s industrial growth.
“There are the N2.4bn contracts due to the industry that the CBN is keeping, which is regarded as a breach of contract. As early as next week, I will begin to get in touch with the governor of the Central Bank to have discussions on this.
“I’m not a person who would come to a session like this and not take action. I’m going to see the CBN governor on this and I will share the outcome with MAN and OPS,” the minister noted.
In response to an address from the President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Francis Meshioye and a presentation by the association’s Director-General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, which highlighted some of the challenges and recommendations on the way forward, the minister said, “We are going to articulate some of the things that have been shared via the Industrial Revolution Workgroup, which will have to be put in place. That is a multi-stakeholder group and will be co-chaired by me and the President of MAN with different stakeholders like NACCIMA and others.”
According to Eno, the group will identify challenges as seen in the presentations and look at the solutions.
“This group will periodically meet and consult with others. In this way, this larger forum, for me would not meet once a year, we are in such a condition that we should inaugurate this to take place quarterly.
“I’m aware this is happening now in December, another one should take place in the next three months and it should benefit from the set-up of this workgroup, what little that they may have done, to be able to progress that has been made,” he added.
Enoh added that the working group would be convened before the end of December with the membership of the work team cutting across various strategic partners in the industry.
The minister lamented, “I imagine that the textile industry is dead and it shouldn’t be. If you look back, that industry employed a lot of Nigerians. We need to see what we can do to resuscitate that sector.
“I was reading some documents about moribund industries and the various attempts that had been made and to what extent we can consolidate on that. Are they working? Are there some matters of policies and is the Nigerian textile industry made to compete unequally? These are some of the things that we need to tackle. We need to return to where we were, not just in the textile industry.”
He went on to express delight that MAN and OPS were supportive of the current tax bills before the National Assembly.
