The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has reacted to the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to keep the benchmark of interest rate at 11%, saying that the rate is still high and not sustainable for the members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS).
President of MAN, Dr. Franks Jacob, at an annual briefing in Lagos, noted that no local manufacturer can be able to survive with any loan above single digit interest rate in the face of the economic challenges in the country.
Jacob said the high rate of interest on loans from the banks is one of the reasons MAN has been kicking against Nigeria opening up its border to European Union Economic Partnership Agreement and others.
According to him, local manufacturers contend against several challenges from electricity, infrastructure and low technology, which are not burdens to the developed world.
The MAN President who commended the CBN action restricting the Bureau de Change (BDC) operators to sourcing their funds from the autonomous market revealed that the apex bank was actually heeding to the advice of the OPS.
