The Area Controller of Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Cross River/Akwa Ibom Command, Chukwudi Gabriel Ogbonna, has stressed that Nigeria requires more manufacturing firms instead of hotels.
He observed that there seems to be more hotels in the country compared with manufacturing facilities.
The Customs boss spoke in Calabar when he received a delegation of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, on Wednesday.
He stressed that there is no way a national economy can grow manufacturers.
“The local or national economy cannot survive without manufacturers. Manufacturing or productive economy energizes any economy.
“But there seems to be more hotels than manufacturing concerns in Cross River and many other states. It shouldn’t be that way.
“We ourselves are affected when manufacturers are not working. We take in revenues when manufacturers are working. We should give more support to local manufacturers,” Ogbonna said.
The MAN delegation, led by the acting chairman, Usen Umoh, visited the NCS to express happiness with the existing collaboration, and also chart ways of improving partnership between the two organizations in the two states.
“We manufacturers cannot do without NCS. This is because as we manufacture, we also import and export. Therefore, we must always interface with NCS. Our businesses have a lot to do with Customs.
“We came to solicit greater cooperation between ourselves and the NCS,” Umoh said.