President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, says the lack of reliable power supply is hindering the growth of industries in Nigeria.
Adesina said this in Abuja on Tuesday at the 49th annual general meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
He said Nigerians spend $14 billion yearly on generators and fuel.
Adesina, who quoted a report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said Nigeria loses $29 billion annually – about 5.8 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – due to a lack of reliable power supply.
He said no business can survive in Nigeria without generators, thereby making the abnormal situation become normal.
“To be a manufacturer in Nigeria is not an easy business. You succeed not because of the ease of doing business, but by surmounting several constraints that limit industrial manufacturing,” he said.
“Today, the major challenge facing Nigeria’s manufacturing is the very high cost and unreliability of electricity supplies. Load shedding and the inconsistent availability of electrical power have resulted in high and uncompetitive manufacturing costs.”
Adesina said unless Nigeria decisively tackles its energy deficiency and reliability, its industries will always remain uncompetitive.
“There should be massive investments in variable energy mixes, including gas, hydropower resources, and large scale solar systems to ensure stable baseload power for industries, to direct power preferentially to industries, and to support industrial mini-grids to concentrate power in industrial zones,” he said.
“We should develop more efficient utilities, reducing technical and non-technical losses in power generation, transmission and distribution systems.”
