High interest rates, policy instability crippling Nigerian manufacturing sector — MAN Chairman

By Matthew Denis, Abuja

Lady Ada Chukwudozie, the Chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has decried the high interest rates and policy instability as factors affecting the Nigerian manufacturing sector.

Lady Chukwudozie, who spoke to newsmen at the 2025 Annual Directors' Conference in Abuja on Thursday, stressed that drastic steps must be taken to revive the sector before it becomes moribund.

She noted that the sector is on the brink of collapse due to a crippling mix of exorbitant interest rates on loans, rampant policy somersaults, and poor infrastructure.

The MAN Chairman identified the lack of access to cheap, sustainable funds as the foremost challenge. 

She noted a massive disparity in borrowing costs compared to Nigeria’s counterparts globally.

"Here in Nigeria, we are grappling with about 35% interest rate, and no business can thrive under such a situation," she stated. She contrasted this with manufacturers in other countries who receive government support with funds often carrying a less than single-digit interest rate.

She also pointed to a major financial mismatch, where manufacturers are primarily offered short-term loans to fund essential long-term projects, further negatively impacting business stability.

Beyond finance, Lady Chukwudozie severely criticized the prevailing pattern of policy somersaults, where policies are introduced only to be quickly suspended and reviewed later, leading to immense instability. This inconsistency prevents businesses from being able to plan or "hedge for the future."

The MAN Chairman urged the government to ensure manufacturers are brought in as co-creators during policy formulation.

"When you want to develop a policy, bring all the stakeholders together on the table and get their insights," she advised. She appealed for these policies to be institutionalised with legal backing to make them difficult for policymakers to arbitrarily overturn.

Lady Chukwudozie stressed that the current lack of basic infrastructure particularly in energy, good road networks, and robust logistics is fundamentally undermining the secondary sector, which is the main engine for national GDP growth and economic multiplier effects.

She suggested that for President Bola Tinubu's ambitious $1 trillion economy goal by 2030 to be achievable, the government must urgently address the infrastructure lapses.

"We need robust transportation networks," she said, advocating for greater investment in rail lines to carry cargo, which would relieve the strain on roads that constantly cave in due to heavy load, making business transactions across Nigeria seamless.