Manufacturers Association Critiques World Bank's Fuel Import Plan

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, through its director Segun Ajayi Kadir, has expressed strong opposition to the World Bank's recommendation to reinstate petrol import licenses. This recommendation, aimed at stabilizing fuel supply, was initially made public but later removed from the World Bank's website.

Kadir warned that increasing fuel imports could trigger deindustrialization and exacerbate economic setbacks, heightening foreign exchange pressures and weakening the naira. He emphasized that Nigeria's inflation is largely driven by exchange rate volatility rather than demand factors.

The association acknowledged the need for energy security but criticized the structural flaws in the World Bank's recommendation, which they believe undermines domestic refining capacity and exposes Nigeria to external shocks. Kadir proposed alternative solutions, including optimizing the naira crude policy and accelerating compressed natural gas initiatives to address structural bottlenecks affecting manufacturing.

This debate on fuel imports occurs amid broader concerns regarding Nigeria's economic reforms and the balance between short-term supply stabilization and long-term industrial growth in the energy sector.