The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has expressed deep sadness that despite contributing the highest to value-added tax (VAT), the sector remains neglected just as its players are being forced out of business due to the harsh business operating environment.

  
According to recent data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the real sector contributed the highest VAT of N578.4 billion in 2023, up from N477.4 billion in 2022, marking a staggering 21 per cent increase.     
 
Former MAN president Apapa branch and Executive Director of Universal Luggage Industries Ltd., Frank Onyebu, said it is very sad that despite being the backbone of Nigeria’s industrialisation, manufacturers have been left to suffer, contending with sky-high operating costs, expensive or non-existent forex, port issues, zero infrastructure and global supply chain disruptions.
 
Regretting that despite calling the government’s attention to the sector repeatedly to prevent it from total collapse, he said deaf ears have been paid to their demands. 
 
“When we call for help, nobody listens to us, however, when it is time for taxes and levies, the government and its agencies are very quick to come around and demand for those.
  
“Industrialist’s problems are not new, they are well known to the government but nothing is being done to save this sector, instead, we are being taxed to the maximum. Over a thousand businesses left or collapsed in the last year, this is not good for the economy. It is tantamount to killing the goose that lays the golden egg. If the real sector collapses, it will not only deal a severe blow to the nation’s economy but the government will have no one left to tax,” he warned.
  
Also speaking, co-founder, Kazih Kits Limited, Dr Chinedu Otakpor-Azih, stressed that VAT and levies can only be collected from companies that are still in existence. She added that the challenges being faced by manufacturers in the real sector are becoming unbearable and many that can no longer cope have been forced out of business.
  
“We are being heavily taxed but get nothing in return, this alone will discourage any investor. Despite paying a plethora of taxes and levies, we source and provide every single amenity by ourselves, squeezing our almost non-existent profit margin even more.
 
“The situation of things in the country now, coupled with the poor economy is making production even harder and it will be good if the government can do something quickly to save the rest of us still left,” she said.