….Over N676.6bn spent on alternate energy cost in H1 2025 — Manufacturers

A whooping sum of N676.6 billion was spent by operators in the nation’s manufacturing sector on alternate energy in the first half of 2025, a development, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) attributed to the erratic power supply in the country.

This is just as the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi, said that President Bola Tinubu is yet to reddem his pledge on electricity stability.

MAN’s president, Otunba Francis Meshioye, disclosed this figure on Wednesday at the 10th Edition of the association’s Media Personality Award and 2026 Presidential Media Luncheon, held in Lagos.

According to him, the manufacturing sector grappled with familiar macroeconomic constraints, including persistent infrastructural deficits, multiple taxation, onerous regulatory requirements, weak policy coordination, elevated energy costs, and other deep-seated structural bottlenecks, in the outgone year.

The MAN boss described the development as underscoring the fragility of the operating environment the operators in the sector grapple with.

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“Manufacturers entered the year with cautious optimism and a renewed commitment to proactive advocacy on issues affecting members’ operations and competitiveness. Nevertheless, prevailing macroeconomic pressures weighed heavily on business sentiment,” he stated.

Meshioye added that the Manufacturers CEOs’ Confidence Index, which tracks manufacturers’ expectations and operating impulse, declined to 53.2 percent in Q1 2025 from 56.0 percent in Q4 2024, before further easing to 50.3 percent in Q2 and only marginally recovering to 50.7 percent in Q3.

He described the ‘subdued confidence’ trajectory as reflecting the unfriendly macroeconomic environment during the period.

On inflation, the MAN president, believed the persistent double-digit inflation continued to erode consumers’ purchasing power, thereby dampening demand for manufactured goods.

He, however, argued that despite the headwinds, the manufacturing sector continued to demonstrate notable resilience, capacity utilisation improving to 61.3 percent, up from 57.6 percent in the second half of 2024.

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On the suspension of the 4 percent Free-On-Board (FOB) charge by the Nigeria Customs Service, the 15 percent increase in port charges by the Nigerian Ports Authority, and the discontinued levy by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, the MAN boss noted that the manufacturers would have faced even greater burdens if the interventions had not taken place.

While expressing the hope of a positive outlook for Nigeria’s economy in 2026, Meshioye canvassed capital expenditure that supports manufacturing in the new year.

Obi, on his part, accused the present administration of failure to redeem its pledge on provision of stable electricity for Nigerians.

In a post on his X handle, @PeterObi, the former Anambra State governor recalled that the incumbent President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu as presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress declared that

“If I do not provide steady electricity in my first four years, do not vote for me for a second term.”

The African Democratic Congress presidential hopeful however lamented that in 2026, the national grid has collapsed twice.

Obi called on Tinubu to stay back in the country and face the onerous task of governance.

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His post read: “President Bola Tinubu’s campaign promise in 2022 was clear:

“If I do not provide steady electricity in my first four years, do not vote for me for a second term.”

“Yet, in January 2026 alone, the national grid has already collapsed twice, and the month is not even over.

“Last year, it collapsed about twelve times. This reality sharply contradicts the promise and should worry every patriotic Nigerian.

“At the same time, the President is on another foreign trip, this time to Turkey, a country of about 87 million people-roughly a third of Nigeria’s population. Yet Turkey generates and distributes over 120,000 megawatts of electricity, while Nigeria struggles with less than 5% of that capacity. The contrast is both striking and painful.

“Our appeal is simple: stay at home and confront the nation’s problems. At this rate, we may soon hear of trips to Palau or Vanuatu while critical issues remain unattended at home.

“And yet, our collective preoccupation seems to be the next election, rather than how to secure good governance. We should be joining hands to demand accountability and responsible leadership, and to save Nigerians from the indignity and suffering caused by persistent bad governance.

“A New Nigeria is POssible.

-PO.”