By Charles Nwaoguji
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has kicked against the recent increase in electricity tariff by the Federal government.
According to the Director General of MAN, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir, the adjustment of N2.00 to N4.00 per kilowatt hour of electricity, effective January 1, 2021 are not welcome because of the economy situation in the country.
Ajayi-Kadir, who stated this in an interview with Daily Sun recently in Lagos, said that this increase in tariff, which is coming at the commencement of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and barely 3 months after the ear initial increment was not manufacturing friendly.
“It appears to be insensitive to the prevailing precarious situation of the sector. The increase is coming at a wrong time and would clearly reverse the little gains in the recent past,” he stated.
He explained that this is against the background of prevailing harsh operating environment, the increasing burden of taxes, the enormous spending on self-generated electricity up to the tune of N70 billion (excluding hundreds of billions Naira spent on settling monthly electricity bills) and the ailing state of a sector that is just recovering from a lockdown occasioned by the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic.
