The chairman of Basic Metals, Iron and Steel Fabricated Metal Sectoral Group of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and the national council member of the union, Alhaji Kamoru Yusuf has lamented huge losses being recorded by manufacturers due to scarcity and rising foreign exchange rates.
Yusuf, who is a member of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and group managing director of KAM Holding Ltd stated this when members of the Senior Course 47 2025 of the Armed Forces Staff and Command College, Jaji, led by Col. Usman Hashim Mohammed, visited KAM Holdings in Ilorin, Kwara State.
He lamented that manufacturers could not remit money for imported raw materials that had long been converted to finished goods and sold when the rate of foreign exchange was much lower than what it is now.
He, however, saluted the courage of President Bola Tinubu-led administration for churning out policies to save the Naira, stem the tide of inflation and stabilise the economy.
He noted that these policies targeted at tackling currency speculation had made the stability of the currency against the Dollar very challenging.
Yusuf who was represented by the vice chairman of the company, Dr. Mrs. Iyadunni Yusuf, expressed belief that with the help and assistance of government in the steel manufacturing sector, the sector and the country as a whole will be better off.
“It is our hope that your tour of our facility will further expose you to the numerous processes involved in the manufacturing of iron and steel products and further build your confidence in the need to appraise our efforts in nation-building processes.
“As regards the theme of your visit, which is, ‘Harnessing Grassroots Intelligence for Enhanced Internal Security’, we all know that this encourages intelligence gathering through grassroots community engagement, as local intelligence can detect early signs of potential threats. Also, collaboration with local communities builds trust between citizens and security agencies.”
Yusuf, who said that the indigenous organisation had grown over the years, added that one of the motivating factors for the growth of the company was aim to reduce the level of unemployment in the society.
In his remarks, the team lead of the Senior Course 47 2025, Col. Mohammed said the purpose of the visit to Kwara State was due to the security challenges in the country, which he said made the College to update its curriculum to include visiting some selected states in the Federation.
He also described the role being played by the firm in the state’s security as enormous, saying that provision of employment to its workers had empowered even people that are not working in the company.
“It’s also gratifying that most of the workers are females that fall within vulnerable in our community. Whether known or unknown, this is helping in solving some security issues within the state”, he said.