Chartered Institute of Professional Printers of Nigeria (CIPPON) at the weekend decried foreign monopoly of the local printing businesses.
According to CIPPON, foreigners have not only monopolised it, but also making it impossible for Nigerians to freely import printing materials, especially papers into the country.
Mr. Olugbemi Malomo, president and chairman-in-council of the Institute, also raised alarm over hike in the cost of printing papers, disclosing that over N3trillion naira worth of papers are imported into the country annually with grave strain on the country’s foreign exchange.
Malomo spoke in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital during the second edition of the Institute’s annual National Conferences in Abeokuta with the theme: “Using Regulation To Revive The Ailing Printing Industry.”
He cited an obvious distortion in the equilibrium of the printing related economy of the nation as another ache that compounded the current predicament of the “ailing” industry.
He said the ease of doing business in the country has let the door so wide that foreigners to come in unhindered to level of being retailers, thereby denying the industry opportunity to grow and nurture capacity building culture.
The President noted particular that the printing of educational materials and election materials are done outside Nigeria to the hurt of the local economy.
He also noted that Nigeria currently prints over 1.2 billion books annually, but lamented that a significant percentage of them is printed abroad.
“There is an obvious distortion in the equilibrium of the printing related economy of the nation resulting in the current predicament of our ailing industry.
“Such distortions include the unhindered printing of educational material and election material particularly, outside Nigeria to the detriment of the local economy.
“The ease of doing business in Nigeria has allowed foreigners to come unhindered to the retail level of our industry, competing with locals with,” he said.