The Chemical and Non-Metallic Products Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (CANMPSSAN) has expressed worry over the exit of 28 companies in the sector since January.

CANMPSSAN National President, Segun David, said this at the 29th yearly national management-industrial relations seminar held in Delta State. He said at least 28 companies in the country’s chemical non-metallic subsector have shut down or relocated abroad, forced out by a harsh economic climate that has severely impacted their operations since January 2024, an average of three per month.

While he lamented that some companies are also in the process of winding down, he criticised President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms as ineffective and disconnected from reality.

He lamented that the harsh economy has worsened the condition of living with over 26 million Nigerians now grappling with acute hunger fuelled by soaring exchange rates, excessive taxation and high inflation.

“The citizens have been turned desolate in their land with flood, kidnapping, banditry, and criminality chasing people from their homes. To the government of the day, people are suffering. An angry man is a hungry man. We urge the president to live up to expectations and improve the lot of the people,” he said.

Speaking on the theme ‘In-depth Analysis of Interwoven Parameters of Workers’ Welfare, Productivity Growth and Government Policies in the Chemical Sector’, Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammed Dingyadi, who was represented by the Registrar of Trade Unions, Amos Falonipe, called for industrial harmony among workers and urged the workers to be patient with the Tinubu administration’s efforts to steer Nigeria out of economic challenges.

The association’s Secretary, Femi Oke, said that manufacturing companies are struggling under current government economic policies, which have significantly reduced Nigerians’ purchasing power.