Business
Hotel Owners Lament Erratic Power Supply, Toll On Business
The Hotel Owners Forum,
Abuja (HOFA) on Thursday in Abuja lamented the erratic power supply to the city, saying it had negatively affected the hospitality industry in the territory.
The President of the association, Dr Bola Onigbogi, told newsmen that the erratic power supply had taken a negative toll on their operation.
According to her, hotel business in the Federal Capital Territory is saturated and owners cannot start increasing room rates and other services.
“Before the proposed 45 per cent electricity tariff increment in February this year; we were complaining that what we were paying then was high.
“Now they have increased the tariff by 45 per cent; actually, the court and the National Assembly had stopped them from implementing the increase.
“But they went ahead and implemented it; we are not finding it easy, and to make matters worse, the supply is not there and we pay the high rate for power,’’ she reiterated.
She said that the erratic power supply was impacting negatively on commercial and domestic activities in the country.
Onigbogi said that consumers across the country were groaning because the electricity supply was erratic.
“Even the Transmission Companies of Nigeria confirmed that there was a sharp drop in the electricity supply across the country.
“By the time you put all these together, you will discover that many businesses in the country are running at a loss; we are not making profit like before again.
“We spend over 35 per cent of our profit on alternative power supply only; it is not supposed to be so; it should be like 10 to 15 per cent.
“Government needs to do something about it because we cannot continue like this; it is not easy,’’ she stressed.
Meanwhile, Chief Tomi Akingbogun, the President of Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN) said that the recent increment in electricity tariff was ill timed.
According to him, the investors are supposed to have given all electricity consumers prepaid meters before implementing any form of increment.
He said that many hotel owners in Abuja were converting their hotels into residential facility.
“I know more than three hotels in Abuja that have been converted to residence; as at now.
“There are hotels that cannot pay their workers’ salaries; some are owing their staff for some months; these are due to challenges facing the hospitality industry in the country.
“The investors in the power sector and Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission do not have the Nigerian people and business in their minds; they are only after the profit for the investors,’’ he said.
Speaking in same vein, Mr Martins Agbo, the Public Relations Officer of Nicon Luxury Hotel, Area 11 in Abuja said that the government needed to wake up and do the needful.
According to him, the Federal Government before privatising the sector, had invested a lot of money in the power sector, but there was no commensurate improvement.
“This is because of corruption; Nigerians handling the power sector were not sincere in the provision of uninterrupted power supply to Nigerians.
“Sabotage is another thing that the government has to look into with all manner of doggedness; because many unpatriotic Nigerians are hell bent on destroying power installations in the country.
“We spend a lot of money on alternative power supply for the hotel, but it would have been better if public power supply is constant to justify the increment in tariff,’’ he said.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has criticised Nigeria’s import ban on 25 categories of goods, claiming that the restrictions limit market access for American exporters.
This is the effect of President Donald Trump’s tariffs introduction on goods entering the United States, with Nigeria facing a 14 per cent duty.
The USTR highlighted the impact of Nigeria’s import ban on various sectors, particularly agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
The restrictions affect items such as beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and alcoholic beverages, which the United States sees as significant barriers to trade.
The agency argues that these limitations reduce export opportunities for United States businesses and lead to lost revenue.
“Nigeria’s import ban on 25 different product categories impacts United States exporters, particularly in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
“Restrictions on items like beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and spirits limit United States market access and reduce export opportunities.
“These policies create significant trade barriers that lead to lost revenue for United States businesses looking to expand in the Nigerian market”, the agency said .
In 2016, Nigeria implemented the ban on these 25 items as part of efforts to control imports and stimulate local production.
Some of the banned items include poultry, pork, refined vegetable oil, sugar, cocoa products, spaghetti, beer, and certain medicines.
On March 26, 2025, the Federal Government also announced plans to halt solar panel imports to encourage local manufacturing as part of its push for clean energy.
A leading agribusiness strategist and digital agriculture expert, Ayo Oluwa Okediji, has sought cooperative-driven investments in sustaining growth of poultry industry in Nigeria.
He said the poultry industry was at a defining moment and requires urgent structural reforms to secure its future and ensure long-term sustainability.
Speaking on the theme, “Strengthening Poultry Farming Through Cooperative Synergy and Strategic Investments”, at the recently concluded Oyo Mega Poultry Workshop 2025 in Ibadan, Okediji called on poultry farmers, cooperative leaders, financial institutions and policy makers to rethink the existing structure of the poultry sector.
He stressed the need to transition from fragmented, individually-driven operations to well-structured, cooperative-led enterprises capable of attracting sustainable financing and securing long-term viability.
He said, “Our poultry sector cannot thrive on individual effort alone. We need to organise ourselves into cooperative clusters, build strong governance systems and position ourselves to attract the level of investment needed to sustain this industry beyond this generation.”
Drawing on lessons from successful global cooperative models such as Rabobank in the Netherlands and Landus Cooperative in the United States, Okediji introduced the FarmClusters Poultry Model, a locally adapted solution developed by Agribusiness Dynamics Technology Limited (AgDyna), a subsidiary of AgroInfoTech Africa.
According to him, the model is currently being piloted in Oyo State in partnership with PANOY Agribusiness Limited and local poultry cooperatives.
The Rivers State Representative of the Nigeria Chambers of Commerce, Mines, Industries and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Erasmus Chukwundah, has urged palm oil farmers to consider hybrid seedlings for planting, if they must break even in palm oil business.
Chukwundah said this recently at the Free Oil Palm Business Climate Smart Best Management Practice/Assistance Training organized by Partnership Initiative In Niger Delta (PIND) for Palm Oil Farmers in Elele, Ikwerre Local Government Area.
The Rivers representative said until palm oil farmers begin to consider such hybrid oil palm seedlings, they may not meet up with the daily increasing demand of palm oil in the market.
According to him, the seedlings produce up to 30 bunches at once that ripen same time.
He said PIND decided to partner with Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria (OPGAN) to ensure that the message was received by the targeted audience.
According to him, palm oil remained a popular choice of industry operators as it could be converted to many other products such as vegetable cooking oil.
He also noted that products such as motor tyers, marine ropes and others are now gotten from the palm tree.
Chukwundah, who is the immediate past Director-General of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Mines, Industries, and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), further warned against use of unrecommended fertilisers in growing oil palms.
He noted that such practices could limit its export value or chances as the foreign marketers have a way of detecting such .
He reiterated the need for organic fertilizers, including poultry droppings, to enable them have a natural palm oil.
“People must reduce physical contact with palm oil production. That is why we are campaigning for hydrolic oil mills. The foreign markets are no longer interested in crude method of palm oil production”, he said.
Meanwhile, one of the farmers, Sonny Didia, who appreciated Chukwundah’s commitment towards the concern of farmers, appealed for an urgent need for loan opportunity with low interest rate in order to enable them beat the target.
King Onunwor