Chief Erick Umeofia, the Chief Executive of Erisco Bonpet Group, has urged the Federal Government to boost the performance of the manufacturing sector by restricting importation of some finished goods.

Umeofia made the call while speaking with news men on Friday in Lagos.

According to him, the influx of substandard finished goods into the country is inimical to the growth of the manufacturing sector of the economy.

“Fiscal policy should be put in place to discourage the importation of these goods and services.

“High tariffs should be placed on goods they know that we have the capability of producing here in Nigeria.

“That is the simplest way to stop it; it takes patriotic and political will to do this for the benefit of our economic growth.

“Importation does not only kill local manufacturers, but creates jobs for those economies, especially China where our traders import these substandard products”.

Umeofia commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its recent monetary policy decisions, adding that the foreign exchange measures would reshape and reposition the real sector.

He urged the apex bank to monitor banks’ activities and ensure that foreign exchange made available to them were not diverted to bureau de change dealers.

Umeofia also appealed to the Standard Organisation of Nigeria, the National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Nigerian Customs Service to stem the influx of substandard goods into the country.

“We are appealing to them to control and monitor effectively the influx of substandard and hazardous health products that litter our markets by deliberate government policies put in place.”

He urged the government to create enabling environment that would promote the industrialisation and growth of the economy.