Mr Seleem Adegunwa, Managing Director, Rite Foods Ltd., producers of Rite and Bigi Sausage rolls and beverages, has urged the Federal Government to address problems of power supply and foreign exchange to aid local productions.
Adegunwa spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos, against the backdrop of the ongoing economic recession.
He advised the government to aid manufacturing companies by making power supply and forex available.
According to him, 80 per cent of problems facing manufacturing companies and the economy are power and forex connected.
The director saidd that inflation and lack of power supply were posing much challenges to manufacturing companies.
He expressed optimism that the nation would soon overcome its economic challenges if power was fixed.
“ A lot of people do business with half-heartedness and many are not sure of the economy.
“We have absolute confidence in Nigeria and in the system. There are issues on power supply.
“We have issues on forex and we have issues on road infrastructure and others.
“Let the government accelerate the processes of making power and forex available to aid economic growth. The government knows the way out.
“Businesses are bearing a lot of pains nowadays right now but if power and forex are addressed, these will almost take care of 80 per cent of challenges facing most businesses,’’ Adegunwa told NAN.
According to him, the company spends nothing less than N72 million on diesel and gas monthly, which was impacting negatively on the business.
“The consumers are finding slight changes in the prices of products challenging.’’
“Meanwhile, prices of raw materials have increased by about 200 per cent, giving businesses slim chances of surviving.
“We are going through survival game. We have cut everything from the operations and everybody makes sacrifices without compromising quality,’’ Adegunwa said.
Advising young entrepreneurs, Adegunwa said, “Honestly, I think if young entrepreneurs keep waiting for the government to do everything for them, they are not going to achieve anything’’.
“They cannot do much, if they keep waiting. As young entrepreneurs, let us talk about everything except government.
“It makes things easy, otherwise, we keep wasting time,’’ he said.
The director said that the country desired a buoyant economy but not ready to invest in what would yield the results for a better country.
Adegunwa said the company was proudly Nigeria, adding that over 90 per cent of the raw materials used for the production of sausages and beverages were locally sourced.
He said that the company was committed to engage many Nigerian youths in the production of world class foods and beverages.
The director said that the company had given direct employment to about 1,000 Nigerian youths and had created many indirect employment. (NAN)