Expand power to improve manufacturing sector, NACCIMA urges Buhari

The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to bring fresh perspective and impetus in ensuring rapid expansion of the power sector.

According to it, so that the energy being generated can conveniently meet the needs of the manufacturing sector while reducing their reliance on alternative sources of energy at exorbitant cost.

Bassey Edem, national president, NACCIMA, made this remark Tuesday while addressing the press on the state of the economy, where he stressed on the need for the federal and states government to explore the utilisation of alternative and renewable energy sources for power generation such as solar, coal, wind and hydro, to overcome the challenges of power supply.

This he added could achieve the target of not less than 20,000mw in the medium term as no meaningful progress could be made in the effort to diversify the economy if the fight to stabilise power supply was not won and stable power supply achieved.

While expressing his worries over the interest rate, which still hovers between 17 percent and 28 percent, posing a major challenge to the business community, he reiterated that the Federal Government revisit and consider the need to bring down the rate to a single digit, which would automatically force down the lending rate in the banks.

In addition, he explained that the effort by government to stimulate the real sector might be in futility if the current trend in lending rate continued, because this impede the ability of manufacturers, entrepreneurs and indeed the real sector to access fund for operations as well as for expansion.

In view of government’s desire to diversify the economy and support backward integration in the real sector, Edem advised that the CBN review the policies as it affect some raw materials not readily available in the country and government should develop initiatives and create enabling environment for the eventual production of those raw materials in the country.