A recent survey has shown that the confidence of many Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in Nigeria’s manufacturing sector declined in the second quarter of 2023 (Q2’23).

More than 63 per cent of manufacturers under the aegis of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) said that capital expenditure by the government did not encourage productivity.

According to the quarterly study, manufacturers’ opinions on changes in the macroeconomic environment showed that roughly 63.1 per cent of those polled disputed that government capital spending boosted manufacturing sector productivity, 23.9 per cent agreed, and about 13.1 per cent were unsure.

Also, MAN observed in the study that the MCCI’s aggregate index score fell by 1.4 points to 52.7 points in Q2 2013 from 54.1 points in Q1 2013, which is also 2.3 points fewer than the 55.0 points registered in Q4 2012.

In response to the survey results, the director general of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, remarked that “government capital investment should address the challenges of economic infrastructure like as roads, electricity, water, etc. that support industrial sector firms.

“The absence of economic infrastructure contributes significantly to the high cost of the operating environment which obstructs the development of manufacturing in Nigeria.”

He added that “Sequel to the above trends, it is highly expedient that the government strives to ensure the harmonization of fiscal and monetary policies that will pave the way for a stable macroeconomic environment needed to promote productivity in the manufacturing sector and improve the ease of doing business.”