By TYAVZUA SAANYOL, Abuja

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Richard Adebayo, has charged Nigerians not to indulged in any behavior of panic buying, adulteration, hoarding of products and price hiking as the Federal Government was putting in place, necessary measures to sustain the production of essential commodities in the country.

Speaking to the newsmen in Abuja, Adebayo stated that, “all industries shall provide requisite facilities and supplies for the prevention of COVID-19 in line with extant guidelines of the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC).”

He noted that “all measures necessary to protect and promote the health and safety of industrial and related workers, their families, communities and the nation at large are being put in place.

“We encourage all industries to do their utmost best to sustain ongoing operations in order to avoid reduction or shut-down of production activities,” he stated.

Adebayo tasked manufacturers to “scale up their production especially of essential commodities such as pharmaceutical consumables, sanitary and hygiene products needed to curtail the spread of the virus in Nigeria.

“Government will continue to do everything possible to support industries to sustain their operations and where necessary even stimulate a surge in production of essential Commodities especially medicine and sanitary products.”

The Minister, therefore, urged Nigerians not to “indulge in any panic behavior such as panic buying, adulteration, hoarding or price hiking as government, Manufacturers and other stakeholders are working closely to minimise the impact of COVID-19 on the populace.”

He assured that all key stakeholders have taken measures to proactively address the challenges and potential threat and the impact of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic on the Nigerian economy.

The President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ahmed Mansur, said the Association was still collaborating with key stakeholders in order to minimise the impact of COVID-19 on the nation’s manufacturing sector.

He said, “at this point, it is more important to us to focus more on how we can proffer solution to the situation rather than emphasised on the pending dangers,” he noted.(Nigerian Tribune)

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