Steve Agbota
Chief Executive Officer of Chimex Phoneland Limited, Emebo Chimezie, has urged government to create enabling environment for investors to set up local manufacturing company in Nigeria, as multiple taxation was killing phone dealers.
Chimezie who stated this at the launch of a new branch office in Lagos, said that establishment of a local manufacturing phone plant would create employment for local hands, and create synergy with foreign counterparts that will also increase the skills of many Nigerians. He said though establishing manufacturing phone company is capital intensive, government must come forward to show interest by supporting investors to bring the company onboard.
He added: “I have been thinking about establishing a phone manufacturing company in Nigeria. It is capital intensive but it is something I will love to do if government can be of help. If we can have one in Nigeria, it will create more employment and develop the nation’s economy. We have already trained engineers that know how to repair phones. This set of people can work in any phone manufacturing company.
“For example, Chinese people who manufacture phones don’t have factory in Nigeria. But they produce phones and bring down to Nigeria and after selling, they take the money back to their country, creating employment for their people.”
Speaking on why Chimex Phoneland was created, he said it was created to provide affordable phones for the masses that do not have access to phone or money to purchase expensive phones.
He said the company’s vision was to create employment for Nigerian youths and train them to become phone and software engineers, adding that the company was targeting 200 jobs before the end of 2018 from current 110 jobs.
However, he lamented that his organisation has been facing a lot of challenges, as government is not making things easy in the area of multiple taxation from federal, state and local governments.
He bemoaned: “When I started, they used to see my company as a small one but now I have employed over 110 staff, they started seeing my company as a big one and they are bringing big money. For instance, they used to bring N10,000 (as tax) but now they are bringing N100,000 and above.”