The African Development Bank (AfDB) has reported that energy reliability would boost industrial sector performance and growth.
The President of AFDB, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said that no business could thrive in Nigeria without relying on generators.
Adesina identified high cost and unreliability of electricity as major constraints in manufacturing sector.
He said at the 49th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and 50th anniversary of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Abuja.
He pointed out that inconsistent availability of electrical power had resulted in high and uncompetitive manufacturing cost as most manufacturers provided their own energy with a high dependence on generators and diesels.
Adesina further emphasised the need for massive investment in renewable energy including gas, hydro power and large scale solar systems to guarantee stable power for industries.
“Nigeria must have greater ambition for its manufacturing sector, by driving greater specialisations and competitiveness, a well-developed policy enabled manufacturing sector with an export oriented goal.
“The performance of the manufacturing sector for the past five years has been poor. Between 2015 and 2017, the sector declined by minus one percent, 4.3 per cent and minus 0.2 per cent.
“While Asian countries are focused on export of manufactured products, Nigeria’s approach has been on import substitution.”
