AfriPulse
December 3, 2025 December 3, 2025
Prince Lekan Adewoye, Chairman, Basic Metals, Iron and Steel Manufacturers Sectoral Group
By Felix Khanoba
The Basic Metals, Iron and Steel Manufacturers Sectoral Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has urged the Federal Government to establish a Special Task Force to recover significant revenue allegedly lost through questionable activities within some of the country’s Free Trade Zones (FTZs).
Speaking with journalists in Abuja, the Group’s Chairman, Prince Lekan Adewoye, criticised what he described as weak regulatory oversight in the Zones—particularly around value addition to imported raw materials, exports into the Customs territory, and transactions involving related entities.
He warned that the government is forfeiting substantial revenue due to “flagrant under invoicing” of finished and semi-finished products brought into the Zones as supposed raw materials. These products, he explained, benefit from government incentives yet enter the Customs territory without undergoing any real value addition.
Adewoye said such practices place legitimate steel and metal manufacturers at a disadvantage, forcing some to shut down and resulting in heavy job losses. He cited a member-company in Ogun State that scrapped nearly 80 percent of its installed capacity due to what it considered unfair competition from operators in the Igbesa FTZ.
“If this situation persists, many more steel manufacturers will collapse, and we risk losing not just investments but also jobs and industrial capacity built over decades. The government must urgently intervene to restore sanity and fairness to the FTZs system before local industries are driven into extinction,” he said.
He noted that the Basic Metals and Iron & Steel sector remains central to Nigeria’s industrial growth, adding that it has continued to contribute to the Tinubu administration’s diversification and industrialization drive through local production, import substitution, MSME support, and job creation, despite prevailing challenges.
Reacting to the concerns, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Economic Zones Association (NEZA), Toyin Elegbede, maintained that the association would not condone any actions by member-organizations that undermine national economic interests. He said NEZA remains committed to the core objectives behind the establishment of FTZs.
According to him, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) maintains a presence in the Zones to inspect and certify goods destined for the Customs territory.
Responding to further enquiries, SON’s Director of Product Certification, Engr. Enebi Onucheyo, disclosed that the agency introduced the “Special Economic Zones Conformity Assessment Programme (SEZCAP)” in 2024 to certify goods entering or leaving the FTZs. He said deployment of the scheme has recently commenced.
He explained that the programme is designed to strengthen the quality, safety, distribution, and export readiness of products manufactured or imported within the Zones. Onucheyo added that SEZCAP is being implemented through SON offices overseeing FTZs across the country.
Source: Authorityngr.com | Read the Full Story…
