Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), South-West zone, has appealed to Oyo State Government and Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to resolve the land use charge crisis between them, saying it is leading to shutdowns of its members’ operations.

Chairman of MAN in the zone, Mr Lanre Popoola, told newsmen on Monday that the power outage in the last four days, occasioned by the land use charge crisis, had left many manufacturing industries inoperative.

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BRANDPOWER reports that Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) had, on Sunday, issued a statement notifying its customers of the power outage due to the sealing off of the Ayede sub-station of TCN over non-payment of land use charge.

The communities affected by the development, according to IBEDC, include: Oloruntumo, Logudu, LEO Community, Owode Estate, Orisunbare area, Oladele Estate, Osembele, Omi Adio, Orile-llugun, Ido, Alako, Ilaju, Eruwa, Lanlate, Igboora, Idere, Ayete, Tapa and Igangan.

Others are: Podo, Boluwaji, Odo-Ona Elewe, Ayegun Oleyo, Challenge, Ijebu-Ode Road, Toll Gate, New Garage, Molete and Idi-Ayunre, while Podo, Soka, Boluwaji, Best Oil, Black Horse and Aramed feeders are also impacted.

Popoola said that the association had reached out to the state government through the Commissioner for Land on the issue.

“The commissioner informed us that the state government had asked TCN to make a commitment on how to ensure the payment of the charge,” he said.

The MAN chairman decried the dilly-dallying approach between the state government and TCN, adding that nothing had yet to be done and that all the affected companies were out of electricity supply, with no end in sight.

“We as manufacturers are now pleading, as our people have been running on generating sets. How long can we go before the companies start to shutdown? I can’t say.

“We are begging TCN to help us out on this issue,” he said.

Popoola said that he had met with the Managing Director of IBEDC and that efforts had also been made to discuss with TCN.

“All they told us was that they were waiting for response from their headquarters in Abuja but up till now, we have not gotten any genuine response,” he said.

When newsmen visited the TCN sub-station at Ayede in Ibadan, the gate was under lock and key, with the “Sealed” sign conspicuously hanging on it.