Multimix Academy has predicted that Nigeria’s supply chain sector will suffer, especially in the first quarter of 2021, if the second wave of the Coronavirus Disease lockdown comes into effect.
The Chief Executive Officer of Multimix Academy, Dr. Obiora Madu, in a chat with Financial Street on Friday in Lagos, said that the supply chain sector in Nigeria had been suffering setback due to poor infrastructure even before the advent of COVID-19.
On the percentage of setback expected in the sector, he said it would be difficult to say, since “we don’t have data.”
His words, “Our supply chain was already not doing well because of lack of structure and COVID-19 came and compounded the problem. Not much has changed from the first lockdown. The second wave will affect the supply chain more, in the sense that we were hoping there won’t be restriction of movement. On the percentage that will suffer, as we don’t have data, it will be a very difficult thing to say.
“But know that even if there is lockdown, what you cannot lock down is the logistics and supply chain because if you lock that up, everything will come to a standstill.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria had, in a circular, instructed that all exporters with un-repatriated export proceeds should be barred from accessing all banking services by January 31, 2021 adding that exports could direct all enquiries on this directive to their respective banks.
So, Madu charged the CBN to carry stakeholders along, especially in making some policies.
He, however, accused the apex bank of always taking decisions without involving stakeholders who are feeling the pains of the decision.
“What I am saying is that it is not a matter of saying this is what it must be; you need to carry stakeholders along. This current CBN has a knack for taking decisions without consulting the people who are feeling the pinach. We are not even sure that the Nigerian Export Promotion Council knows about some of these policies before they go public. The exporters need to be consulted and then it will be a discussion. Then the exporters will explain whether it is favourable or not. It is very simple because this is a symbiotic relationship,” Madu said.
He reiterated that the policy-making process needed to be more robust.
Madu announced that the supply chain academy appointed Oluchi Okafor as the Managing Director with effect from January 1, 2021.
Get real time update about this post categories directly on your device, subscribe now.
