The minister of power, Adebayo Adelabu, has assured local meter manufacturers of the federal government’s commitment to patronising local meter manufacturers.
This, he noted, will not only cater to closing the metering gap currently being experienced in the country but will also boost local content development and serve as a tonic to galvanise growth in the industrial sector.
He gave this assurance during his working visit to Momas Electricity Meters Manufacturing Company Ltd. (MEMMCOL), Mowe, Ogun State.
Adelabu harped on the importance of sustaining local meter manufacturing, especially given the Presidential Metering Initiatives’ target of installing between two million to 2.5 million meters annually over the next five years, saying it will go a long way to address significantly the metering gaps in the country.
He, therefore, called for collaborative efforts from all stakeholders to achieve this, especially as it aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s agenda of “Renewed Hope.”
“We will also prioritise patronage, ensuring sustainability in their operations, aligning with President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda. It is a must to have significant local content in the power sector’s projects and contracts,” Adelabu said, adding that this is the only way local producers can sustain their operations.
The minister further highlighted plans to introduce legislation mandating local content in the power sector, stressing the necessity of comprehensive plans for full backwards integration and technical training including providing access to affordable funding and long-term capital, which he said is necessary to start developing capacity in terms of investment infrastructure and also mass production.
Describing MOMAS as “our proud local meter manufacturing company in Nigeria,” Adelabu praised the firm, saying its investment in metering and other electrical equipment is topnotch. He therefore promised to engage with regulatory bodies to expedite meter acquisition plans, to address urgently the widening metering gap currently being experienced in the country.
“I visited the meters manufacturing company to see how they can be supported. It’s part of my visit to see how they can be supported through the meter expansion programme of the Ministry of Power. We know that Nigeria is a highly import-dependent country, and this is one of the reasons our currency has lost value.
“But it is one of the intentions of the government to ensure we are back on the import substitution journey and the only way we can do this is to support local manufacturers. Apart from support, we must also grant them incentives by providing a conducive atmosphere that we make their production activities in terms of cost to be competitive,” Adelabu expressed, hailing the investments made by the firm in meter infrastructure.
The Chairman/Chief Executive of MOMAS, Mr. Kola Balogun, thanked the minister for his support and stressed the need for sustained government commitment to local industries. He highlighted his firm’s capability in producing high-quality meters and appealed for increased government support to facilitate raw material procurement and potentially explore export opportunities, with an assurance that MOMAS, as the only Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) in meter production in the country, is poised to meet Nigeria’s metering needs.
“We design meters from scratch and our capability in this regard is not in doubt because we complied with all the various standards that Nigeria has set and also global best practices in terms of design.
“Virtually all DisCos are our partners. We also supply meters to Liberia, Sierra Leone and other African countries, but the volume Nigeria needed supersedes any volume in Africa,” he said
“The local patronage is still very much needed to be able to meet up the investment threshold that we have done in the country today,” Balogun appealed.
