President, African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, has said Nigeria is losing about 29 billion dollars annually due to a lack of reliable power supply.
Adesina, who made this known during his lecture on Building a global Nigeria, to mark the 90th birthday anniversary of retired Gen. Yakubu Gowon in Abuja, said that it amounted to 5.8 percent loss in the nations Gross Domestic Product, (GDP).
According to him, the major challenge facing Nigerias manufacturing industries was the high cost and unreliability of electricity supply. The AfDB boss said that load shedding and the inconsistent availability of electricity had resulted in high and uncompetitive manufacturing costs.
He further said most Nigerian manufacturing companies are providing their own energy with a high dependence on generators, diesel and heavy fuel oil.
According to him, Nigeria has the highest population of people living without electricity globally. He said, It has been estimated by the IMF that Nigeria loses about 29 billion dollars annually, that is, 5.8 percent of its GDP, due to a lack of reliable power supply. The report also indicates that Nigerians spend 14:billion dollars yearly on generators and fuel. There is no other way to say it, lack of electricity is killing Nigerian industries, he further stated.
He quoted the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) as saying that industries spent N93.1 billion on alternative energy in 2018, adding that: Today, no business can survive in Nigeria without generators. Nigeria had gas and crude oil in abundance, which can be vital means of generating electricity, yet, 86 million people live daily without electricity.
Adesina said that it was a situation that called for the government’s attention so as to boost the countrys economy. He also said that looking at achieving a global Nigeria, the country must achieve universal access to electricity.
Highlighting AfDBs contributions, Adesina said that the Bank had invested massively in the power sector to support the implementation of Nigerias Power Sector Recovery Programme by providing 200 million dollars for the Nigeria Electrification Project.
According to him, a major component of AfDBs energy strategy is the launch of the Desert to Power initiative, a 20 billion dollars initiative to provide electricity, which would provide electricity for 250 million people across 11 countries of the Sahel, including Northern Nigeria.
He said that it was expected that Desert-to-Power would create the worlds largest solar zone.
