The House of Representatives Committee on Power has proposed a special levy to discourage the importation of finished goods and encourage local production in Nigeria.
Victor Nwokolo, the committee’s chairman and representative for Eka North East/Eka South federal constituency of Delta State, made the announcement during a facility tour of Metering Solutions and Manufacturing Services in Onna Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State on Monday.
According to Nwokolo, “There are levies which people pay when bringing cars into the country. When you import cars, you pay special levies. We will explore ways to ensure those bringing in finished goods also pay special levies to the government because this is the only way we can discourage them from flooding the country with imported products.”
He also expressed concerns over the nation’s excessive reliance on imports, stating that it had turned Nigeria into a dumping ground. Nwokolo highlighted the importance of boosting local production to conserve foreign exchange and improve the economy.
The lawmaker praised President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to addressing Nigeria’s power sector challenges and acknowledged the contributions of Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu.
He said, “Whether we like it or not, President Bola Tinubu’s government is determined to improve the lives of Nigerians. I can confidently say he is paying close attention to the power sector.”
Further, the Managing Director of Metering Solutions, Tolulope Ogunkolade, revealed that the federal government had not fully utilized the company’s production capacity, despite significant investments.
He lamented that contracts for 1.3 million meters had been awarded to Chinese firms instead of supporting indigenous manufacturers.