By Gloria Nwafor
Employers in the chemical sector, under the aegis of the Chemical and Non-Metallic Products Employers Federation (CANMPEF), have said the private and public sectors have roles to play to sustain peace through the promotion of knowledge, development of human capital and promotion of social cohesion.
Executive secretary of CANMPEF, Femi Oke, said this at the 30th Industrial Relations Seminar of the National Union of Chemical Footwear Rubber Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees (NUCFRLANMPE) in Ibadan, Oyo State, with the theme ‘Sustaining Industrial Peace and Harmony in an Era of Socio-economic and Political Instability in Nigeria.’
As the general elections draw close, he said the government needed to strengthen administrative machinery to deliver on its obligation to the populace.
He said the government should target its economic policies toward scaling up local production and efficiency with an impact on quantitative and qualitative improvements, as well as impose strict compliance with Executive Order (003) across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to stimulate more patronage of made-in-Nigeria goods.
For the industrial sector, Oke advised that the federation and national union should collaborate and step up advocacy with the federal and state government to make the business environment easy for manufacturing companies to operate and survive.
According to him, the cost of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike on the economy, transcends both human resources and economic loss.
The number of youth workforce migration to other climes in search for greener pastures is at an all-time; thus, creating short and long-term talent draught that our industries require to reposition itself and compete favourably in the new continental market (AfCFTA),” he said.
He decried the multifarious challenges in the country, stating that they are fostering social unrest and suffocating industrial and business activities in the country.
On the way out, the CANMPEF boss called for a detailed approach that combines the use of fiscal and monetary policies that should provide answers to short and long-term measures that should be in place to address the looming recession.
Others, he said, include, “How Nigeria can leverage its available resources to achieve maximum output, commencing with food security and healthcare needs?
“What sectors of the productive economy have shown the most resilience since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and what can be done to further support its growth?”