Mr Jijiwon Akpovwovwo, the acting National Secretary, Nigerian Hotels Association, on Tuesday said that 45 per cent of revenue generated by hotel owners in Nigeria is utilised in paying electricity bills.
Akpovwovwo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna that charges for power supply is the second highest expenditure after salaries and wages.
He said that a study conducted by the association showed that running hotel business in the country is increasingly becoming counter productive.
He said that hotel owners incur the huge expenditure “even before the recent increase in electricity tariff.’
“The current increase in tariff will make operators of hotel poorer; even with the removal of fixed charges we still pay higher than when the fixed charges exist,” he said.
Akpovwovwo commended the National Assembly and labour unions for opposing the increase in tariff.
He said that the tariff should be reviewed downward to save critical sectors of the economy including the tourism from collapse.
The acting national secretary noted that electricity is a major component for the development of any nation.
“The government must mitigate the effect of the hike for the sector to grow.
“In advance countries, it is abnormal to see businesses spending as high as 40 per cent of their expenditure on electricity.
“Hotel business is capital intensive so government must support it by creating conducive atmosphere for it to thrive,” he said. (NAN)
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