Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has voiced strong criticism against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for hiking the interest rate to nearly 30 percent.
Speaking at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja, during the opening session of a three-day summit organized by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on Tuesday, Dangote highlighted the challenges this rate poses to job creation and the manufacturing sector’s growth and competitiveness.
Dangote stated, “Nobody can create jobs with an interest rate of 30%. No growth will happen.” He emphasized the need for new policies to protect domestic industries and provide an enabling environment for businesses, especially manufacturers, to thrive. He urged the government to take cues from leading countries in the West and East that actively protect their domestic industries.
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Africa’s richest man equated import dependence to poverty importation, saying, “Import dependence is equivalent to importing poverty and exporting jobs. No power, no growth, no prosperity. Similarly, no affordable financing, no growth, no prosperity. There is no industrialization without protection. Ignoring these facts gives rise to insecurity, banditry, kidnapping, and abject poverty.”
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The CBN recently increased the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) for the third consecutive time, from 24.75 per cent to 26.25 per cent, during its last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.