According to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the sector is starting to feel the effects of the 250% increase in electricity tariffs that its members in Band A are being forced to pay.
As a result, these members are starting to worry. The association’s Director General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, voiced the concerns during the 52nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) media briefing recently in Lagos.
He said that the new electricity tariff’s unviability poses a serious threat to the industry in Nigeria, with over 2,500 members fearing for the future of their companies.
He conveyed his concerns about what would happen if these companies were forced to close due to the development and how that would affect the overall state of the economy.
Therefore, Kadir urged the federal government to step in and subsidise a significant portion of the cost for members, just as it had done in the country’s post-secondary institutions, pointing out that many businesses would not handle the current tariff.
“We wouldn’t mind if we were made to pay a 100% increase. But hiking the electricity tariff by 250% for manufacturers is not just done. It is not sustainable. Many of our members cannot afford it. Some are even thinking of shutting down. But you can imagine what would happen if this number of businesses shut down. Definitely, that would not be in tune with the President’s economic agenda,” he added.
Speaking about the association’s upcoming AGM, President Otunba Francis Meshioye said that the three-day event, scheduled for October 22–24, provides a great opportunity for the association to further its advocacy mandate.
One of the highlights of the three-day event, he said, is the Adeola Odutola Lecture, which is currently in its fourth edition.
Mr. Dot Samaila Zubairu, the President and CEO of the Africa Finance Corporation, will address the imperatives of an intentional development of the manufacturing sector as the event’s guest speaker.