Manufacturers have appraised the proposed 2016 budget, showering praises on the present administration for its economic diversification plan, which has a special focus on agriculture and solid minerals.

According to them, the plan, if rightly pursued, would be highly beneficial to most sectors of the economy, especially the manufacturing sector that looks up to it for raw materials inputs.

The President of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Frank Udemba Jacobs, in a statement made available exclusively to The Guardian yesterday, said the agricultural sector “will contribute immensely to the diversification of the economy, because it is a major source of raw materials for the manufacturing sector.”

According to Jacobs, it might be too early in the day to make a forecast of what the New Year portends, but the budget appeared good on the surface because of the increased capital allocation.

“The delay in constituting the Cabinet by the new administration somehow slowed down the economy, which eventually picked up when Ministers were appointed. The presentation of the 2016 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly, hopefully, would further move the economy forward, as it looks like a budget of economic diversification, inclusive growth and job creation. It appears to be a budget of change, considering that the allocation to capital expenditure is significant and perhaps, with faithful implementation, would address the nagging issues of the prolonged infrastructure decay. There are areas in the budget that are questionable, but on the whole, it appears a good budget,” he said.

He was optimistic that 2016 would be an eventful year, provided the current tempo of activities is sustained by intensifying the fight against insurgency and corruption.

The manufacturers also commended the plan to employ 500,000 graduate teachers, saying it would, with other employment opportunities mentioned in the budget, address, to some extent, the unemployment situation in the country.

They also made a case for the sustainability and streamlining of funding windows already provided for the manufacturing sector, stressing, “If this happens and small and medium manufacturing industries (SMEs) are included in the reduced taxation and funding for smaller businesses, the country will be better for it as SMEs are major employers of labour.”

Looking back to year 2015, Jacobs said it was full of intrigues with the year’s budget coming late, thus impacting negatively on businesses. He also mentioned some of the negative activities that impacted negatively on businesses, including uncertainties arising from the general election, the commencement of the Commom External Tariff; the issue of the inconclusive Economic Partnership Agreement; the restriction on the utilisation of Forex for the importation of some raw materials; the fall in the price of crude oil in the international market; the lingering insecurity in the country; the lingering review of the Export Expansion Grant; the unresolved fuel shortages across the country; the worsening electricity supply situation and the influx of finished sub-standard and often-times counterfeited products smuggled into the country.

“These impacted in various ways, and had serious negative effect on the economy. Despite these events, Nigerians remained resolute and resilient in their pursuit of their business and economic endeavours.”

The MAN President expressed displeasure at the persistence high lending, which, he said, went up as high as 28 per cent to frustrate the survival of the manufacturing sector, particularly the Small and Medium scale operators.