Managing Director of Liberty Industries Limited, Abuh Kamal, has berated the Federal Government (FG) for its failure to fix the challenge of the national grid, lamenting that it is one major reason the country’s manufacturing sector and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are not doing well.
Kamal, who spoke with The Trumpet in a telephone interview at the weekend, said the constant collapse of the national grid has become a national embarrassment.
Reacting to the national grid that collapsed over the weekend, he said erratic power supply is the major reason local MSMEs were finding it difficult to grow, adding that erratic power supply and high cost of diesel had forced several MSMEs and firms to shut down.
“When I heard that the country’s national grid collapsed again on Friday, I marveled. I kept asking what is happening? In the last two months or so, the Minister of Power told Nigerians that the national grid collapsed for four times.
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“I don’t know how that can happen, despite the billions of dollars the government has pumped into the power sector in the past 23 years. I am just confused,” he said.
He added that the cost diesel that the local MSMEs and businesses in Nigeria rely heavily on had increased beyond the reach of most MSMEs operators.
Kamal added that he usually run his factory with the diesel when it was sold for between N190 and N230 per litre, but due to the Russia and Ukraine war, the price of diesel has soared to between N700 and N800 a litre, which has impacted negatively on his firms.
“In the past, the public power was supply for between 10 to 18 hours in the area my factory is located,” he said, adding that whenever there is power outage, he uses his generating set to power the factory.
Liberty Industries that produce PVC, plastic Chairs, household plastic products and related items postulated that the current year has been very challenging for the local MSMEs firms.
“This year 2022 has been very challenging for the business sector. Most of my colleagues have either shut down their plants or have been operating skeletal services.
The constant collapse of the national grid has impacted negatively on public power supply,” he added.
He appealed to the Federal Government to tackle the issues that have led to the constant break down of national grid, adding that erratic power supply and high cost diesel have almost crashed MSMEs in the country.
