Nigeria’s pulp and printing industry risks total collapse – ‎Union

By Ihesiulo Grace

3 October 2016

Business

The National President of Pulp Paper and Paper Products Printing and Publishing Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PPAPPAPSSAN), Comrade Dada Joseph has said‎ the nation’s pulp and paper industry may collapse in 10 years from now if there are no conscious efforts on the part of the federal government to save it from the ills afflicting it.

He however appealed to the federal government to guarantee easy forex access to paper companies in the country.

‎Joseph, gave this advice in a letter he addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari on the way out for the paper industry in Nigeria, emphasising the need for the federal government to liaise with stakeholders in the sector, especially the Paper and Paper Board Manufacturers and Converters Association (PPMCA) to assist operators in the sector.

The letter advised the federal government to provide infrastructure like power and, where that was impossible, subsidise cost of diesel for major players in the industry.

It said: “The federal government should reconsider its policy which compels the companies to buy diesel or gas in foreign currency that is in dollars as Naira still remains the only legal tender in Nigeria.

The sector which was one time, the major employer of labour in Nigeria with well over 300,000 employees in 1990s cannot boast of 10,000 employees today. This sordid situation according to stakeholders, calls for a thorough scrutiny to save the sector from total extinction.

“Although, the federal government of Nigeria in 1970s, 80s and 90s identified the importance of this sector in Nigerian economy and gave it the recognition it deserved by establishing three important key paper product industries to limit the importation of raw materials for the sector. The industries include 1. Nigeria Paper Mill, Jebba,. Iwopin Pulp Paper Ltd., Iwopin, and the Nigerian Newspaper Newsprints Manufacturing Company, Oku Iboku.

“The federal government should reconsider its policy on privatisation of the three major paper mills as stated above by constituting a committee of major stakeholders and the two unions in the industry to workout strategy to revive the primary mills. The revival of the paper mills will improve the economy of the country.”

It advised the federal government to prevail on the states and local governments, where paper companies operated, to grant the tax reliefs to them.

It said that providing such reliefs was inevitable at this critical time, given the facts that the companies were primary sources of reducing unemployment in the states and local government where they operated.‎ Joseph said.