Chairman of the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Rivers and Bayelsa States has asked Nigerian government to look for way of solving the coronavirus pandemic outside lockdown imposed in states across the country.
Senator Adawari Pepple speaking in radio programme on Nigeria Info 92.3FM said that government should look for solution to coronavirus and ensure how people would get back to work and not see lockdown as solution to coronavirus.
Senator Pepple said: “I must say that so far so good. Our government has been responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. At least, we’ve been able to restrict the spread even though at the moment we are having community spread. It’s no longer those flying in from abroad and so it requires a lot of enlightenment of our people. Self-distance issue is not a joke. It’s real. Wearing mask is absolutely necessary.
“So government is doing a lot in that direction but I want to tell us that it’s either we hurry up and catch up with Covid-19 and eradicate it or we know that in no distant time we have to live with the situation and try to beat it while still continuing with our lives.
“The question is for how long will this continue this way and if it continues this way, lockdown to me is to first of all control the spread of the virus. It is not a solution to it. So Nigerian government should be looking at solution as it stands today. We should be thinking, ‘how do we solve this problem and get back to work?”
He said the economy should bounce back so people could earn living and not be tempted to look for ways to fend for themselves.
The business leader said: “I tell you if at the end of the day there’s no economy then it will take us a very long time to recover and if by next month nothing is done for the economy to be flowing a little, that means that a lot of people will have no job in terms of payment of salary and that necessarily puts a lot of burden on the government at all levels because when people are not paid their salaries what they resort to is something that you and I should not imagine and I pray that it doesn’t get to that.”
He said that the coronavirus pandemic was impacting negatively on businesses adding consumption was not as high as it used to be because people were under the lockdown.
The business leader said if the situation continued as it is quite a number of businesses would be unable to meet their obligations noting that the government should support the business sector.
He said the coronavirus pandemic was sufficient reason for most businesses to declare ‘force majeure’ in which they would be unable to meet their responsibilities.
He said that there would be total anarchy if the government would not support business.
The Chairman of manufacturers’ association said government should give grants to organized private sector so that manufacturers would be able to pay their employees, saying manufacturers are second largest employers of labour.
The business leader said the government should support the economy and should consider what would happen after coronavirus.
