Investor Seeks Reduction in Energy Tariffs

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

An investor and operator of   The Beer Barn in Rivers State, has tasked the federal government on reduction in energy tariffs and improved power supply, lamenting that facility spends about N4mllion on diesel to generate its power monthly.

 The Beer Barn, is a popular nightclub bar which branches are located in Port Harcourt, Lagos and Abuja.

 Speaking during the Port Harcourt’s Beer Barn’s 10th anniversary, the General Manager of the club, Mr. Toni Cheikwafa, said despite the challenges, especially the high cost of doing business, it has successfully maintained 300 employees in its efforts to help in solving the problems of joblessness.

Cheikwafa, who said they are interested in human capacity development, stressed that the firm currently places emphasis on survival instead of posting high profit margin.

 He said: “We are always keeping it up. We have faced many challenges. Every business has challenges.” 

“The main challenge is the high cost of running business; the cost of diesel, cost of electricity, goods and drinks. They have all gone up.

 “So, to maintain your standard you keep adjusting your prices to keep moving. It is not time you can make a lot of money. What you have to do is to survive. Most important is to keep paying our staff salaries, our rents and our suppliers. We are not owing anybody.

 “We used to pay N800,000 a month to generate our own electricity. But now we pay around N3 million  N4 million a month and it is extra expenses.”

 On the importance of steady electricity to the survival of businesses in the country, Cheikwata appealed to the federal government to drive a process of giving the country 24-hour power supply with affordable tariffs.

He said: “The federal government should work on reducing the tariff, it is too much. Not everybody can survive with this rate. They should have a clear plan for Nigeria to have 24 hour light or at least 20 hours; not using diesel and generators all the time.

 “The best way is to give light. Since we can give light to other countries, why don’t we keep light for 24 hours.

 He said the main objective of opening Beer Barn was to generate employment for people especially the youths, adding that the firm had grown from 25 employees to about 300 staff strength.

 “They are working hard to take care of their responsibilities. There is always security challenge but we took out decision to keep security in all our branches.”

 Also speaking, Chairman of Beer Barn, Dr. Abu Inu Umoru, said the firm was planning to open another branch in Port Harcourt because of its success in the oil-rich city.

 While commending the people of Rivers for trusting the brand, he said the firm was always studying the market and adopting the right strategies to survive the prevailing economic challenges.

 “It has been splendid. We thank God for this initiative in Rivers particularly Port Harcourt. We thank the Port Harcourt people and the trust they have in our establishment.

 “We thank the management and staff. Port Harcourt has been a blessing and we intend to remain here and probably open more branches. We need to identify our market strategy and how to approach the present economic hardship and challenges.”