Members of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) have lamented huge losses they are recording as a result of scarcity and sliding rates of foreign exchange.
The Chairman of the Basic Metals, Iron and Steel Fabricated Metal Sectoral Group of MAN and the national council member of the union, Alhaji Kamoru Yusuf, made this known when members of the Senior Course 47 2025 of the Armed Forces Staff and Command College, Jaji, led by Col. Usman Hashim Mohammed, visited KAM Holding Limited (steel manufacturer) in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
Yusuf, who is also the Group Managing Director of KAM Holding Ltd, denounced as harmful a situation that manufacturers could not remit money for imported raw materials that had long been converted to finished goods and sold when the rate of foreign exchange was much lower than what it is now.
He, however, lauded the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for churning out policies to save the Naira, stem the tide of inflation and stabilise the economy, “as well as tackle currency speculation, which had made the stability of our currency against the Dollar very challenging”.
Represented by the Vice Chairman of the KAM Holding Ltd, Dr. Mrs. Iyadunni Yusuf, he expressed optimism that with the support of government in the steel manufacturing sector, the sector, and the country at large, would be better off.
He said: “It is our hope that your tour of our facility will further expose you to the numerous processes involved in the manufacturing of iron and steel products and further build your confidence in appraising our efforts in nation-building processes.
“As regards the theme of your visit, which is, ‘Harnessing Grassroots Intelligence for Enhanced Internal Security’, we all know that this encourages intelligence gathering through grassroots community engagement, as local intelligence can detect early signs of potential threats. Also, collaboration with local communities builds trust between citizens and security agencies.”
Yusuf, who opined that his indigenous organisation had grown over the years, added that one of the motivating factors for the growth of the company is to reduce the level of unemployment in the society.
In his remarks, the team lead of
the Senior Course 47 2025 of the Armed Forces Staff and Command College, Jaji, Col. Mohammed, said the purpose of the environmental visit to Kwara State was as a result of security challenges in the country, which, he said, made the College to update its curriculum to include visiting some selected states in the federation.
He also described the role being played by the KAM Holding Limited in the state’s security as enormous, especially the employment offered to scores of people by the company and the enhanced economy by the company not only in Kwara State but also the entire country.
“It’s also gratifying that most of the workers are females that fall within vulnerable people in our community. Whether known or unknown, this is helping in solving some security issues within the state”, he said.