High electricity tariffs making Nigerian manufacturers uncompetitive, says MAN

*The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria laments the comparatively high cost of electricity across the country is making indigenous producers uncompetitive with counterparts in other economies

Emmanuel Akosile | ConsumerConnect

In view of the relatively high electricity tariffs in the economy, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has disclosed that about 45 percent of the production cost of manufacturers in the West African country is spent on energy, and this development in the real sector is making them uncompetitive within and beyond Africa.

MAN stated this Tuesday, November 2, 2021, in Abuja, FCT, at the inauguration of the National Clean Energy Skills Certification for Young Professionals by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).

The European Union (EU) and the German Government jointly financed the certification within the framework of the Nigerian Energy Support Programme, according to report.

Ibrahim Usman, Chairman, Infrastructure Committee of MAN, speaking on behalf of Nigerian manufacturers at the event, said the high cost of electricity across the country was making indigenous producers uncompetitive.

Usman, who is also Board Chairman, Manufacturers Power Development Company Limited, said: “In other countries manufacturing is very competitive and you cannot succeed in it if your production cost is not down.

“This is very vital for Nigeria now, considering the African Continental Free Trade Area. We want our goods to be competitive. We want our prices to be right.

“But they cannot be right when the electricity cost for the manufacturing sector in other countries is a maximum of 10 percent whereas here it is 35 to 45 percent.

“So we are already backwards.”

The MAN Chairman of Infrastructure Committee, nonetheless, expressed hopes that the clean energy skills programme would assist in improving the country’s power sector as this would impact positively on production.