Power supply hinders phone manufacturing in Nigeria - NCC

The Nigerian Communications Commission on Monday says the instability in power supply is hindering the manufacturing of mobile phones in the country.

The NCC Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Tony Ojobo, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.

Ojobo said that before a mobile phone manufacturer could invest in the country successfully, there must be a stable power supply, among other factors.

'The issue of power has to be addressed before we begin to manufacture phones because power plays a very critical role in manufacturing.

'Cell phones use micro-chips and other software; it is not a thing that you can manufacture when the light goes off.

'Any interruption when the production process is ongoing may cause monumental damage, meaning that the cost of such phone will be too high because manufacturers are not charity.

'There are automations that are programmed on the computer and without light, it can't be achieved,'' he said.

'If people are manufacturing using generating set you will have to consider the price of diesel required to run such production plant.

Some of the phones like techno, he said, were being assembled in Nigeria because we don't have manufacturer yet.

He noted that it was only local companies that assemble computers that were available in the country, saying that there was no single manufacturer.

'The issue of production of phones in Nigeria was a policy issue, but as at now there is no Act that says phones that will be sold in Nigeria should be manufactured in the country.