The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), has called on the President Muhammadu Buhari regime to support production of goods as diesel price hits N720 per litre.

Lanre Popoola, the chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo branches, made the call on Sunday in Ibadan, while speaking on the increase of prices of petroleum products and lack of power supply.

Mr Popoola lamented that the hike in diesel price has affected production, noting that 70 per cent of industries run on the product.

“Maybe the government can come in and do a kind of palliative for us, it is either we have light 24 hours per week, to run our factories or do a palliative on diesel.

“There is no power supply, we are having 30 per cent of what it used to be, whereas the disposable income of people is not increasing and the cost of products are going up,” Mr Popoola added.

The chairman noted that, if the situation persisted, it could lead to bigger issues that would further affect the nation’s economy and increase the hardship of Nigerians.

“The worst part is that diesel suppliers cannot agree for organisations to make a flexible payment plan such as instalments, while they deliver the products in trust,” he said.

Mr Popoola reiterated that the way forward was for the government to come in and assist manufacturers, by giving some rebate on diesel, adding that it was the only lifeline.

“Aside from manufacturers, for transporters that are bringing food from the North or taking products to the East or Lagos, now the cost of their logistics would have doubled by 100 per cent if not 200 per cent.

“So the more the international prices of Petroleum products go up, the higher the prices of what we are going to get from them,” Popoola said. 

(NAN)