MAN President, Meshioye Commends the Media for over five decades’ milestone achievement

• MAN projects the sector to grow by 3.1% this year, contributing over 10% to GDP

 

The President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Otunba Francis Meshioye, OFR said that the media has remained one of its strongest partners while commending it for the significant milestone achieved by the sector for over five decades.

MAN President gave the commendation at the 2026 Edition of the MAN Media Personality of the Year Award and Presidential Media Luncheon held on Wednesday, January 28, 2026 – Adeola Odutola Hall, MAN House in Lagos.

He stated that this year’s edition of the MAN Media Personality of the Year Award and the Presidential Media Luncheon marks its 10th anniversary, adding that a decade ago, this initiative was conceived to strengthen collaboration between the media and the Association, while creating a platform to celebrate impactful journalism.

“You have been a driving force in the attainment of our goals; amplifying our advocacy, interrogating our policies, challenging our assumptions, and giving visibility to the realities of Nigerian manufacturers.

“Through your reportage, our positions on industrial policy, manufacturing competitiveness, energy security, local content development and the macroeconomics environment in general have remained firmly on the national agenda. When we speak of patronage of Made-in-Nigeria products, your pen has greatly contributed to transforming that slogan into a national imperative. When we advocate against stifling policies, it is your platforms that have accelerated the persuasion of government to listen. For this, we remain deeply grateful.

“Dear Partners, our collaboration has become a national imperative, a matter of necessity as we strive toward a more conducive environment for the manufacturing sector. This gathering provides an opportunity to speak candidly about the state of Nigeria’s manufacturing sector as we stand at the crossroads of challenge and opportunity.

“We look forward to a time when reports on the manufacturing sector will not be overshadowed by the prevailing headwinds that hold it back from attaining its deserved potential,” Meshioye emphasized.

He highlighted that in 2025, the manufacturing sector continued to grapple with familiar macroeconomic constraints, including persistent infrastructural deficits, multiple taxation, onerous regulatory requirements, weak policy coordination, elevated energy costs, and other deep-seated structural bottlenecks, adding that these challenges once again underscored the fragility of the operating environment for manufacturers.

Manufacturers, he said, entered the year with cautious optimism and a renewed commitment to proactive advocacy on issues affecting members’ operations and competitiveness. Nevertheless, prevailing macroeconomic pressures weighed heavily on business sentiment.

According to him, the Manufacturers CEOs’ Confidence Index, which tracks manufacturers’ expectations and operating impulse, declined to 53.2% in Q1 2025 from 56.0% in Q4 2024, before further easing to 50.3 % in Q2 and only marginally recovering to 50.7% in Q3, stressing that this subdued confidence trajectory reflected the unfriendly macroeconomic environment during the period. Interest rates remained elevated at 27.5% through much of the year, significantly increasing borrowing costs and constraining access to credit.

Meshioye also stated  that the situation was further exacerbated by erratic public power supply, compelling manufacturers to rely heavily on alternative energy sources, with an estimated N676.6 billion expended on energy cost in the first half of 2025 alone.

In his words: “While the broader economy recorded disinflation in 2025, with headline inflation moderating from 27.61% in January to 15.15% in December, price levels remained elevated. The disinflation was supported in part by relative exchange-rate stability, as the Naira appreciated by 6.4% to close the year at N1,443 per US dollar in December from N1,541 per US dollar in January, marking the first annual appreciation in seven years.

“However, persistent double-digit inflation continued to erode consumers’ purchasing power, thereby dampening demand for manufactured goods.

“Despite these headwinds, the manufacturing sector demonstrated notable resilience. Capacity utilisation improved to 61.3%, up from 57.6% in the second half of 2024. Export performance strengthened, with the sector’s export value rising to N978.53 billion in Q3 2025 from N803.8 billion in Q2 2025. Similarly, the sector’s contribution to GDP averaged 8.36% in Q3 2025, compared with 8.24% in 2024. Sectoral growth also remained in positive territory, with output expanding by 1.69%, 1.60%, and 1.25% in Q1, Q2, and Q3 2025 respectively, reflecting the underlying resilience of manufacturers despite a challenging operating environment.

“In 2025, we sustained our advocacy with the support of your platforms. We spoke with one voice, clear and coherent on policies affecting manufacturers. We thank the government for its listening ear. Without the suspension of the 4% Free-On-Board (FOB) charge by the Nigeria Customs Service, the 15% increase in port charges by the Nigerian Ports Authority, and the discontinued levy by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, manufacturers would have faced even greater burdens.”

He pointed out that global geopolitics in 2025 introduced new dimensions, with tariff wars and rising tensions, hence the association has continued to urge the government to prioritise manufacturing and give critical attention to the Nigeria First policy, “It is a national imperative, and we hope for better implementation this year.”

He affirmed that manufacturing thrives when Government and industry players work in close collaboration, both in policy formulation and implementation and urged stakeholders in government not to treat this as an afterthought, but to ensure all relevant players are consulted before decisions are made and decisions made should reflect the imperatives for growth, innovation and competitiveness.

“Government agencies should be enablers of ease of doing business, not obstacles,” he warned.

He declared that the outlook for Nigeria’s economy in 2026 is broadly positive, noting that in the manufacturing sector, this means opportunity, but only if the right policies are in place.

‘MAN projects the sector to grow by 3.1% this year, contributing over 10% to GDP. To achieve this, our advocacy will focus squarely on the fundamentals that matter most to industry,” he said.

MAN President stated that the association’s priorities in 2026 are clear: Canvassing capital expenditure that supports manufacturing; Securing affordable and reliable energy for industry; Expanding access to long-term, low-cost finance; Restraining excessive taxation and regulatory burdens; Promoting policy consistency and predictability and Championing patronage of made in Nigeria products.

He explained that in practice, this means sustained engagement to ensure investments in power, transport, and other industrial infrastructure are fully delivered; advancing gas to power solutions and grid modernization; expanding credit intervention programmes; and redressing fiscal and regulatory measures that undermine competitiveness.

“MAN will adopt a more structured, evidence driven advocacy strategy this year, engaging early with government on budget priorities, producing concise policy briefs backed by data, and building stronger alliances within the organised private sector. Our message will be simple but firm: manufacturing is central to jobs, exports, and fiscal sustainability. When manufacturing thrives, Nigeria thrives. We are fully aware of the early onset of the political activities in 2026 and we have seen the need to continuously ensure that Government does not relegate the wellbeing of the economy to the background, on account of politicking.

“There is no gainsaying that manufacturing remains central to Nigeria’s economic transformation. A thriving manufacturing sector means jobs, exports, innovation, and shared prosperity. Simply put: when manufacturing wins, Nigeria wins. Government must therefore see manufacturing not as a sector to manage, but as a partner to empower,” Meshioye declared.

He congratulated all nominees who competed keenly for the MAN Media Personality of the Year Award, adding “Your work reflects dedication, professionalism, and a deep understanding of Nigeria’s industrial landscape. I commend the independent review committee for its diligence and integrity in assessing the entries. Winners will be announced shortly by the Corporate Affairs Division. For those not recognised as winners today, please know that your contributions are valued, your voices are heard, and your time will surely come.”

MAN President expressed their deep appreciation to the press for standing with Nigerian manufacturers throughout 2025 as torchbearers of their advocacy and urged them that they move into 2026, to continue telling the story of industry with accuracy, depth, and courage, adding that nations are built not only by factories, but by the stories that promote and defend them.

Earlier in his welcome address, Director General MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir mni highlighted that they are using the decennial to appropriately name this yearly event as MAN Media Conference and Award for Excellence in Journalism, adding that over the past decade, this platform has become a bridge between the manufacturing sector and the media, fostering dialogue, strengthening advocacy, and celebrating excellence in journalism.

“This year, we shall not only continue to actively monitor government decisions and be prompt in our response, we shall proactively work to anticipate and shape them.

“I congratulate the winners of the awards in advance, while encouraging others to actively participate in the competition and plan to win next year,” Ajayi-Kadir, added.

High point of the event was the presentation of awards to the 2025 winners in the Print, Television, Radio Online and Photojournalism categories.

PHOTO NEWS