– Urges Nigerians to embrace locally manufactured products
(By Chinwe Odita)
There was a lot to eat and drink as close associates and family members of Engr. David Chidolue Ifezulike, the chairman of Nestle Nigeria Plc came together to celebrate with him as he marked his 70th birthday, recently.
Speaking with Pharmanews in an exclusive interview during the memorable event held in Lagos, the Nestle boss thanked God for His grace and blessings.
When asked how he managed to maintain a youthful look at 70 years, Engr. Ifezulike says he has always managed to live a healthy lifestyle, urging Nigerians to embrace eating healthy foods and regular exercise to stay healthy.
The Nestle chairman also urged Nigerians to reduce their appetite for foreign goods and embrace locally manufactured products. He therefore, tasked the government to find ways to restore investors’ confidence in the Nigerian economy, noting that there is a lot of fear right now about the nation’s economy.
On the effect of the present economic recession on the food & beverage sector, Ifezulike noted that Nestle is equally affected like many other companies, adding that getting foreign exchange for the importation of raw materials and replacements for machinery has been tough.
Ifezulike also bemoaned weak consumer spending, saying the recession has considerably reduced purchasing power of Nigerians to buy products of most manufacturing companies.
Nestle, however, he said is coping reasonably as the company has always looked inwards to replace imported raw materials with locally sourced ones. “For example, we replaced butter oil with refined vegetable oil, barley malt extract has been replaced with maize, soya, millet, sorghum etc,” he said.
