Hairdressers and tailors in Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT, say business has been slow since the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government.
The business owners, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) ii Gwagwalada, also said that patronage of their services had dropped drastically.
Sarah Morgan, a hairdresser, said that business had been challenging because her trade depended on power supply, adding that she could no longer afford fuel to power her generator set when there was no electricity.
“Patronage has dropped drastically for me, because unlike before, when there is no light, I quickly switched on my generator but now, I have to depend solely on the national grid.
“Fueling my generator is expensive now and even when I manage to use it for customers, they complain about the extra charge which I have to review because of the new fuel price.
“Most of them will prefer to wait for electricity before making their hair, but most times, it does not come.
“I sometimes only manage to braid hair for just two people in a day which is not too good for me compared to what I used to make in the past when customers washed and dried their hair in my salon.”
“It is usually very painful when I have little or nothing to take home because transport fare to my salon has also increased, coming and not making enough money is very discouraging,” Morgan said.
Similarly, Nkechi Okafor, a tailor said that the increase had slowed down her production and had made business less lucrative for her.
She said that not being able to afford another means of power supply for her business was crippling her only source of income and affecting her relationship with her customers.
“Before now, I worked the whole day with my generator set whenever there was no electricity so that I could meet up my customers’ demands.
“Now, I cannot power my generator because I cannot afford fuel and it will cost me too much and may not even last as much I will want it to.
“Plus, I will have to put extra charges for my customers which most don’t want and so, I have to rely on the time electricity is restored which is time consuming and slows down production.
“Usually, I made good money with express sewing for customers who needed it within a short period, but now customers would tell you to make their clothes whenever electricity is available.
“The problem is that light is not consistent.
“Whenever it is available, the workload increases and I end up having to clash on delivery dates for customers while disappointing some of them and even losing some as a result,” she said.
Solomon Adejoh, a welder, also said that work hours for him had turned to sleeping hours as he continued to witness low patronage in his business.
This, he explained was part of the effect from the increase in fuel price resulting to the increase in prices of materials for his work and other goods and services.
Adejoh called on the government to proffer a lasting solution to the challenge of fuel and electricity as this is affecting businesses and incomes of those that depended on such services.
NAN recalls that the Federal Government had in May removed subsidy on fuel.
Nigerians were yet to recover from the announcement when the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) increased pump price of petrol from ₦195 per litre to ₦617.
NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA
