Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has picked holes in the claims by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that it made available $2.83 forex to them and others.
President of the association, Mr Frank Udemba Jacobs, said such amount was never allocated to them.
He said the apex bank should explain how it shared the $2.83 billion to beneficiaries in the past two months.
Penultimate Thursday, the CBN, through its spokesman, Mr Isaac Okorafor, had disclosed that $2.83 billion was disbursed for utilisation in the critical sectors of the economy between December 2016 and January this year.
Mr Okorafor listed manufacturing, raw materials and agriculture, among others, as beneficiaries of the disbursements targeted at strengthening the economy.
In the breakdown, the CBN said it released $609 million and $228 million for raw materials in December and January, while manufacturers got $53 million and $71 million during the same period.
He noted that the forex utilisation indicated that $1.839 billion and $0.989 billion respectively were extended to critical sectors.
But the manufacturers said these claims may not be totally true.
In his reaction to claims that some of its members were involved in round tripping, MAN President wondered how manufacturers, who do not have enough forex for the importation of raw materials and machinery, could be accused of round tripping.
“Any trader with connection can claim to be a manufacturer and have access to forex when the real manufacturers are starved of it.
“The government should therefore do more work in this area to identify those who are really into manufacturing from traders,” Mr Jacobs said.
