MAN warns inflation won’t ease without reforms

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) is urging for coordinated structural reforms to combat inflation and enhance the competitiveness of the nation's manufacturing sector. This call comes as Nigeria's headline inflation saw a marginal decrease to 15.91% in June 2026, down from 15.93% in May, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Despite the slight overall decline, food inflation continued to rise month-on-month, driven by increased prices for essential items like pepper, tomatoes, crayfish, and beef. MAN's Director-General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, noted that this persistent inflation highlights the fragility of Nigeria's economic recovery. He cited rising food prices, energy costs, transportation expenses, and exchange rate pressures as key factors increasing production costs and diminishing consumer purchasing power.

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MAN has consistently maintained that addressing inflation requires coordinated structural reforms that improve productivity, strengthen infrastructure, enhance security in agricultural and industrial communities, and stabilise the foreign exchange market.

Ajayi-Kadir emphasized MAN's consistent stance that tackling inflation requires comprehensive structural reforms. These include improving productivity, strengthening infrastructure, enhancing security in agricultural and industrial zones, and stabilizing the foreign exchange market. MAN remains committed to advancing policies that foster industrial competitiveness, encourage investment, expand local production, and boost exports.

The association aims to position Nigeria as Africa's industrial hub and a preferred manufacturing destination. MAN is advocating for critical measures such as recapitalizing the Bank of Industry, creating more concessionary lending windows for manufacturers, reducing import costs for industrial machinery and raw materials, and securing long-term development finance to support investment and expansion. The association also noted that the first half of 2026 was impacted by insecurity and the Middle East conflict.

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As we enter the second half of the year, our priorities remain firmly focused on advancing policies that improve competitiveness, encourage investment, expand local production, deepen exports, and position Nigeria as Africa’s industrial hub and the preferred manufacturing destination.