The Industrial Revolution Working Group is actively working on a lasting solution to Nigeria’s persistent energy instability, following three national grid collapses in less than 30 days, according to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria.
The President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Mr Francis Meshioye, told The PUNCH during a media luncheon held in Lagos on Wednesday that the recent grid collapse incidents in the country had wiped out earlier hopes of a recovery in power generation and supply.
Meshioye, a co-chairman of the IRWG, stated that the public-private sector-led platform he leads alongside the Minister of State for Industry, John Enoh, to drive industrial competitiveness had prioritised energy because it is crucial to manufacturing productivity and cost stability.
He said, “The Industrial Revolution Working Group meets regularly. We are working. We just had a workshop two weeks ago. The IRWG is creating a model. We are currently working on energy. Energy. Importantly.”
MAN’s president added that manufacturers continued to face volatility in electricity supply and pricing as recent grid failures reversed gains recorded in 2025.
“It comes back to the question of whether manufacturers still feel the strain of high electricity tariff as before, and I can only say that it is oscillating,” Meshioye said. “The national grid has come down three times in less than 30 days. It was incredible.”
MAN’s president affirmed that the recent incidents were particularly worrying because the power sector had shown signs of stability after a prolonged period of frequent collapses.
He said, “Earlier, the grid went so many months without any collapse. I was happy to think that energy has become sustainable. But the energy issue is a problem. So, what IRWG has done is to look at that as a problem and commit to working on it.”
The PUNCH reported earlier today that Nigerians were concerned over a possible return to frequent grid failures after the country experienced three collapses in less than one month.
Electricity distribution companies attributed the disruptions to low power generation, although they disagreed that the sector had fully relapsed into the era of persistent grid failures.
The national power grid collapsed again on Tuesday, the second time in four days, marking the second collapse in January 2026 and the third in less than a month. The grid had earlier collapsed on December 29, 2025, and again on January 23, 2026.
In 2024, the grid collapsed almost monthly, but the situation improved in 2025 when only two major incidents were recorded. However, following two collapses in four days and three in less than a month, stakeholders are wary of a worsening situation.
Other stakeholders have also warned that the economic consequences of repeated grid failures could be severe. The Director-General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Chinyere Almona, stated that the collapses imposed high costs on businesses and undermined confidence in economic reforms.
She cautioned that “repeated grid failures impose severe costs on businesses through lost production hours, damaged equipment, increased reliance on self-generation, higher operating expenses, and reduced competitiveness.”
Almona added that the disruptions weakened investor confidence, worsened inflationary pressures, and eroded the credibility of ongoing reforms.
She called on the Federal Government to institute “an independent forensic audit of the national grid covering transmission infrastructure integrity, system protection schemes, operational protocols, and governance of grid management,” noting that the findings should feed into short-term grid performance reforms.
The LCCI Director-General warned that without urgent intervention, recurring grid collapses would undermine the government’s objective of entering a consolidation phase in 2026, while constraining productivity, exports, and job creation.
She noted that the collapses should be treated as an economic emergency, not merely a technical issue.
Manufacturers have struggled with energy woes, as MAN has consistently raised concerns over electricity costs and reliability. In 2025, the Director-General of the group, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, urged the Federal Government to review the performance of electricity distribution companies amid plans to raise tariffs.
Ajayi-Kadir called for a critical assessment of DisCos’ investment in distribution infrastructure, warning that rising electricity costs were stifling manufacturing growth and the broader economy.
He urged the government to “conduct a study on the impact of the increase on the manufacturing sector in particular, and businesses and households in general; sincerely and critically interrogate the so-called cost reflective tariff template of the DisCos, and audit their level of commitment to investment in distribution infrastructure.”
Ajayi-Kadir maintained that electricity remained a critical input in manufacturing, with a direct impact on production costs and product prices, adding that “the incessant increase in electricity tariffs in Nigeria is hindering the performance of the sector and the growth of the economy.”
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