Ex-MAN chairman laments increase in diesel price

Dr Wale Adegbite, Former Chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ogun Chapter, said increase in the price of diesel from N400 to N625 per litre would lead to higher production cost for manufacturers.

Adegbite said this in an interview with our correspondent on Friday in Ota, Ogun.

He noted that higher cost of diesel translated to higher cost of running generators, which many manufacturers used to power their factories.

“Most of the manufacturers always use diesel trucks as a source of transportation for their raw materials and finished goods, but unfortunately the price of diesel has gone up, thus increasing the cost of transportation,” he said.

Adegbite attributed the increase in the price of diesel to the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, and urged the Federal Government to provide palliatives to cushion the effects of fuel scarcity on its members.

He identified two of such palliatives to include: lowering of interest rates and making dollar more available to manufacturers to import raw materials into the country.

He noted that this challenge was world-wide as the country did not have control over the price of crude oil, which was determined by external factors.

“The fuel scarcity has increased the cost of transporting raw materials into factories and finished goods outside.

“In addition, it has also increased the cost of production for manufacturers and has made it difficult to produce at optimal level,” he said.

This development, he said, would likely lead to hyper inflation towards the middle and end of the year.