Date: 2018-03-18

An Industrialist and Vice President of KWARA State Chambers of Commerce, Industry , Mines and Agriculture, (KWACCIMA ) Mr Babalola Muyideen Oyeyemi has called on the Federal Government to come up with a deliberate policy to mandate banks to set aside a percentage of their net profits to support industries in the country otherwise more industries will crumble.

According to him, such policy will not only revive moribund industries but will also assist existing industries to grow and in turn, reduce the high rate of unemployment particularly among our teeming youths as done in the education sector under the TETFUND.

Mr Babalola who is in charge of Industries in KWACCIMA and the Managing Director of Polar Petrochemicals Limited located at Laduba in Asa local government area of Kwara state expressed these views in Ilorin during an interview with journalists.

He explained that such funds would be managed by Nigerians with integrity and be accessed by indecent would-be industrialists without much burden as the government can no longer provide white collar jobs for the citizenry.

The Industrialist disclosed that except Nigeria becomes an effective producing nation, the economy can not grow and lamented that presently, Nigeria relies on trading where countries like China, Dubai and India use her markets as a dumping ground .

Mr Babalola added that in as much as the government might not completely ban importation, government need to protect the local manufacturers by imposing heavy tariff on imported goods thereby discouraging foreign products into the country .

He claimed that the government has been given lip service on the enforcement of patronizing made in Nigeria goods claiming that at most government functions foreign products were always displayed and made use of against the indigenous items.

The KWACCIMA Vice President regretted that finished Nigerian products compete with foreign goods in the country whereby Nigerians still have to pay heavily for energy, multiple taxation and to source for funds for their businesses alleging that most of the foreign products imported to the country are substandard products and fake.

Mr Babalola also condemned the idea where the federal government imports base oil , which is the main raw material in the lubricant industry into the country with trillions of Naira since the past fifteen years that Kaduna Refinery had stop production of the product and urged the government to quickly address the issue .