Sodiq Ojuroungbe Nigerian pharmaceutical manufacturers have raised the alarm over the debilitating impact of soaring interest rates on operation, claiming it is hampering growth and threatening the industry’s survival. They lamented that the high interest rates, which had reached 38 per cent, have become a critical barrier to operational sustainability. Speaking at the 13th Annual Symposium and Award Ceremony, organised by the Health Writers Association of Nigeria, in Lagos, the manufacturers stressed that the situation has made operation impossible, urging the government to lower the rates to 20 per cent or less.
They argued that the government’s focus on fighting inflation through high interest rates is hurting the economy and that the government should prioritise growth instead. The Chairman of ST. RACHEAL’S Pharmaceutical Nigeria Limited, Akinjide Adeosun said Multinational corporations like GSK, Sanofi, and others have lately left Nigeria, and their departure has left a vacuum in the country.
According to Adesosun, operating in Nigeria has proven to be extremely tough for these pharmaceutical businesses due to a demanding economic environment that includes variable exchange rates, hefty import levies, stringent regulatory processes, and bureaucratic impediments. He said it is no longer sustainable for the federal government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria to steadily raise the MPR as a way to reduce the high rate of inflation. He urged the government to focus .
