AS Nigerians celebrate Independence Day today, the manufacturer of Day Sun Paints Limited, Sir Dayan Chukwurah has urged the Federal Government to boost local industries in Nigeria.
Sir Dayan, who disclosed this to newsmen in his country home at Issele-Azagba, Aniocha North Local Government Area, Delta State said that the inability of the government to support local producers contributed 40 percent to the sufferings of the people.
Dayan further said that the tariff attached to importation was so exorbitant that most importers cannot effectively import goods on affordable prizes, adding that the cost of producing local materials was also very costly.
He said that the high cost of raw materials and with the level of multiple taxation have tremendously affected production cost, and have made local products unaffordable to the poor masses. Dayan used the medium to appeal for government support, stressing that if government were able to provide soft loans, reduce taxation, empower producers and collaborate with manufacturers, cost of products will reduce drastically.
He urged Nigerians to patronize local products as a means to promote local industrialization, while urging producers to ensure that they produce quality products that can compete with the foreign products.
Dayan further adviced younger Nigerians to look inwards and see what they can be able to invent, as white collar jobs are scarce to come by, adding that the youths should engage themselves with skills to earn a meaningful living in Nigeria. In the same vein, Sir Dayan blamed the government for orchestrating insurgency through non availability of employment, empowerment and support, adding that developed countries had a way of supporting her citizens.
He prayed, as Nigeria is celebrating 64 years, that things would improve, appealing to the federal government to device means to alleviate the surfferings of the people, and see how to reduce the cost of petroleum products which has directly affected both producers and dealers across the nation.
