By Merit Ibe

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has urged the Federal Government to guarantee improve and reliable power supply  for its members  in the sector to enable them remain in busiess in the face of removal of fuel subsidy.

The Association made the call as the effect of fuel subsidy removal continues to take  a toll on their activities across the country even as   its members struggle to survive the economies several headwinds.

MAN Chairman, Frank Onyebu, who emphasised that subsidy was not sustainable, wondered why Nigeria has yet to start refining crude oil after so much was  spent on turnaround maintenance on all the refineries before the Bola Tinubu administration came on board.

He also queried why licences should be granted to individuals to import fuel, when the country produces oil, stressing it was not encouraging. 

Onyebu noted that with Dangote refinery which would soon come on board to supply to the local market, cost of shipping and other logistics would be eliminated.

Onyebu, who lamented that the sector’s logistics value chain has witnessed increasing cost of production, said the hike has also affected the  rate of presence of workers, who were groaning under the transportation cost, higher cost of living, inflation, reducing purchasing power among others.

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“Things have become tough and made worse by the hike in transportation and other costs. How can workers who earn a meagre #30,000, transport to work, feed and meet other needs.

The work will definitely suffer. We will have to think about increasing salaries.

Cost of production has definitely increased. Unfortunately the economy cannot support increase in price of our products. “The only way manufacturers could move on with  this  price hike is for a major improvement in power supply to industries. There is need for a deliberate government policy to ensure that manufacturers receive adequate/stable supply of electricity to remain in business.

“This problem would not be very critical if we have stable power supplies to industries.”  He asked that government should find a quick solution to the issue as some operators  who have been managing to survive, with the increase again, they might either close shop or relocate to other countries. 

The government has to work out something to redeem the situation.

On the call for palliative to ameliorate the pains of citizens, he opined that if government can work out a palliative scheme that  will be free of corruption, that will be okay.