‘Meter Import Waiver Puts Manufacturers At Risk’

The recent approval by the Federal Government of a waiver of the import levy on meters will put local manufacturers in jeopardy, Mojec International Limited has said.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission had announced in August that the President had directed that there should be a nationwide mass-metering programme in an effort to put a stop to estimated and arbitrary billing for electricity.

“He has also approved a waiver of the import levy on meters, so that those that do not have meters can be supplied as early as possible at reasonable costs,” NERC said.

The Chief Executive Officer, Mojec International Limited, Chantelle Abdul, who put the metering gap in the power sector at six million, said local manufacturers had developed the capacity to meet the nation’s meter requirements.

Speaking during a visit by the Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr Olalere Odusote, to Mojec on Friday, Abdul said the company had been in the business of metering for several decades.

She said, “Our factory was commissioned in 2012; we thought it was essential as a company providing meter solutions in a country where there is a huge metering gap that we produce meters that we design ourselves in this country.

“There is a huge debate going on nationwide today where the President has provided a waiver to import meters, and so I do not need to stress the fact that it puts manufacturers and those who are creating jobs here in Lagos and around the country in jeopardy.”

Abdul added, “I am happy to state that they are having discussions with us, and we are discussing a way in which we can ensure that we can bridge this gap through manufacturing as opposed to importation.