In this interview with our CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, ABBANOBI-EKU ONYEKACHI in his office, the CEO/MD, Prince Interior Furniture and Furnishing Company Limited, Ambassador Emeka Egwuekwe says that after paying visiting Senate President Godswil Akpabio and among others shared views with him on the importance of patronizing made in Nigeria goods, the Legislature, Ministries, Dapaerments and Agencies (MDAs) aren’t patronizing Nigerians manufacturers.
Excerpts.
Qtn: Manufacturers paid a visit to the senate on the way forward for those in production and now the president has marked a year in office, any improvement in patronage for made- in -Nigeria goods?
Ans: They are still buying foreign furnitures. If there is any difference, you will see us smiling to the bank, and because of non patronage and high cost of production, we may soon not only sack our workers, but also close up. National, state assemblies and other government offices are still buying foreign furnitures. Last time, I heard Mr President ordering that the MDAs should be using made – in – Nigeria goods. This is a good one and if it is done, you will see the economy grow, but if it didn’t, some of us may close up.
Qtn: Many roads were commissioned within and outside Abuja in this one year of Tinubu in office, are you still decrying bad roads?
Ans: In the area of roads, I give kudos to Tinubu and Wike, because most of the roads, including the one from Asokoro to this area of business has been completed and commissioned. However, I urge them to extend such services to satellite towns, for them to feel the impact of Abuja too.
Qtn: You the manufacturers use any negative opportunity against Nigerians, can you tell us how you have been helping the government?
Ans: We are assisting the government in employment. We have more than 70 staff and if there is no improvement, as I said earlier, we shall sack some of them, because I know what it isn’t easy to pay salaries. The organised labour was demanding N494 thousand as minimum wage and if it is taken, those of us in the informal sector will collapse, because we can’t pay that. Mr President is sincerely trying all he can to address the economy, but it isn’t easy. To me minimum wage shouldn’t be above N70 thousand to N80 thousand.
Qtn: What do you have to say about the public office holder’s remuneration?
Ans: This is where we need citizen’s empathy. A public office holder, like in the judiciary, where a judge is said to be collecting about N6 million monthly, and the legislators and other public office holders, who are equally places on unimaginable remunerations, wouldn’t go down well with staff who receives about N80 thousand and N90 thousand monthly as the case may. Under this condition, the criminals in the streets and even workers may be targeting them. The president of a particular country said he didn’t need salary; that his salary should be kept back.
Qtn: Are you calling for reduction in the remunerations of public office holders, as well as telling workers to come down too?
Ans: Yes, I am calling for the reduction of their remunerations, including that of Mr President, who was stinkingly rich before becoming a president. He didn’t come to steal money, but to address the economy. The senate president has already made it before becoming senate president. Let them reduce their remunerations to a meager, so that others would follow suit. As the M/D of Prince Interior, I don’t receive salary, and if I do, it won’t be less than a million Naira, and the staff will not be paid. So labour should come down, because if they don’t, it will affect informal sector and their staff who outnumber the employees of the government.
Qtn: Can you tell us the difference President Ahmed Tinubu has made in the production industry in his one year in office?
Ans: He has made positive and negative indifference in the industry, in the sense that in the area of infrastructure, especially on the highways and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), he has done well. But in human capital development, you can see the hardship, causes by subsidy removal. Subsidy removal wasn’t given its deserved thoughtfulness, and it is affecting the informal sector seriously. It has made prices of goods and services go up beyond imagination. Subsidy is an organized corruption by the elites against Nigerians.
He understands the language of the elites and knows how to handle the issue of corruption. He shouldn’t have removed the subsidy, without putting a remedy in place. Before going into that, he should have gone into investigation, to find out if Nigeria is subsidizing for other countries, individuals or even for Nigerians.
The outcome of the deep investigation would make some Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) officials to go down. That some people are feeding from the subsidy isn’t an allegation, because, during the time of former President Goodluck Jonathan, a legislator was shown in camera, collecting money illegally fom an oil mogul, all in the name of subsidy.
Qtn: How does all these concern a furniture company like yours?
Ans: This concerns me a lot, because the high price of materials, has been gone up, making our products very costly and as such, no patronage. The foam we used to buy at N52 thousand during Buhari’s regime is sold at N180 thousand and a set of upholstery we used to sell at N350 thousand is N1.2 million now and they are not being bought, that is how it affects to us. We used to pay N30 thousand monthly to our workers, but now, it is N60 thousand, for them to have something at the end of the month.
Qtn: Having been decrying that poor electricity supply hinders production, hope that it is all over now?
Ans: There is no energy supply from the government. What I use is gas, which has been causing a lot of money in the field of production. We plan to meet with Mr President, to have discussion on the way forward, but due to the issue of strike, we had to shift it to July. I heard that there is an executive Bill that food items, drugs, that is medical fields and raw materials shouldn’t be taxed which is very good. But we should checkmate importation, because the more you give the people the opportunity, the more they go into excess importations, without going into productions exportations. We should also encourage production of what we can produce, instead of importing those ones we can produce. But those ones we can’t produce, we import, but we shouldn’t allow our importation to exceed our exportation. It is unhealthy to any economy.
