Manufacturing companies in Ilorin, Kwara State are now producing at half capacity due to the hike in the price of diesel. A litre of diesel now costs N750 in Ilorin, the state capital.

The building industry is also affected by the unbearable cost of diesel as prices of various types of sand have been hiked by 100 per cent by the suppliers.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the situation has forced some manufacturers to cut their production by half, a situation that may ultimately lead to job loss.

Many individuals have stopped construction works on their buildings while sand suppliers, especially the tipper lorry drivers have lost patronage because of the high cost of sand.

A sand supplier/tipper lorry owner, Alhaji AbduKareem Fayabale told LEADERSHIP that a load of sharp sand which hitherto cost N7,000 now goes for N14,000.

The astronomical increase in the price of sand is due to an over 100 per cent hike in the price of diesel. However, we have also lost patronage as most people have decided to stop construction works on their buildings,' Fayabale stated.

The president of Kwara Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KWACCIMA), Mr Olalekan Ayodimeji described the hike in the price of diesel as worrisome.

He said that a situation where diesel is dispensed at N750 per litre in the face of epileptic power supply and collapse of the national grid called for concern.

Ayodimeji said while industries were wailing and businesses groaning in silence, consumers were confronted with the dilemma of hyperinflation and low purchasing power.

He likened the present situation to rubbing pepper to an injury as business owners and entrepreneurs struggle to survive what he called a 'harsh business environment'.

Blaming the rising cost of diesel and kerosene on the ongoing war in Ukraine, the KWACCIMA's boss said it was the time for the government to be proactive in cushioning the adverse effects of the development.

He asked the government to urgently hold a critical session with business leaders to brainstorm ways to ameliorate the challenges arising from the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

He called on business leaders and entrepreneurs in large, medium, small and nano enterprises to be resilient and remain dogged in view of the current challenges in the business space.

Ayodimeji pleaded with the end-users and consumers to show understanding and bear with producers and sellers of goods and commodities on price consequences that might arise from the present situation.