to the government for single-digit lending rate in the sector.
He pointed out that multinational corporations who have exited the country left a vacuum as operating in Nigeria has proven to be extremely tough for pharmaceutical businesses due to the economic environment that includes variable exchange rates, high import levies, stringent regulatory processes, and bureaucratic impediments.
“However, after trying this for a year, inflation and lending rates are still high, it is time to switch gears. When you borrow money at an interest rate of about 38 per cent to import drugs, coupled with the high cost of fuel/diesel, clearing cost, import duties and levy duties , no business can survive,” he said.
To tackle insecurity in the country, he said the Federal Government to recall and deploy retired security personnel to the wards in local government areas to assist in curtailing insecurity, as it will help food production. “We don’t have enough facilities in Nigeria to produce drugs locally. The government must come in heavily. The same kind of interventions seen in the petroleum industry should be done in the pharmaceutical sector. We need the government to give grants to the industry. Government has great intentions to transform the industry, but those intentions have not been translated into practical means. It is time for government to take action, by fulfilling its promises to the industry,” he said.