…Commits N700bn in 20yrs

By Providence Ayanfeoluwa

Chief Executive Officer of Coleman Wires and Cables Limited, George Onafowokan, has said that the future of the cable industry in Nigeria is huge.

This is even as the cable manufacturing giant revealed that it cumulatively invested in excess of N700 billion with a turnover exceeding N137 billion in 2024.

Speaking at a media parley heralding the company’s 50th Anniversary celebration in October 2025, Onafowokan said it is a journey from a trading outfit in 1975 to a manufacturing giant.

He said that the company’s manufacturing capacity now includes 390,000 tonnes of copper, 108,000 tonnes of aluminium and an expanding fibre optic output projected to reach nine million fibre kilometres yearly.

On job creation, he said the company currently boasts of over 700 direct and 7,000 indirect jobs with limited capacity, saying that the number would tripple with increased production capacity to 60 per cent.

He gave insights into the company’s expansion achievements, including the commissioning of West Africa’s first XLPE medium/high-voltage cable plant and a fibre-optic facility, both situated in Nigeria,

He said that the company recently completed continuous casting smelter—the first of its kind in Nigeria—capable of producing 10,000 tonnes of copper and 3,000 tonnes of aluminium annually, with ambitions to double this capacity.

However, he raised concern in the delay in finalising the 2025 tariff policy guidelines, saying: “We missed the opportunity to benefit from the 2024 tariff measures, as the most recent update was in 2023. We are hopeful that the President will endorse the 2025 tariff guidelines this month, as it is crucial for the health of the manufacturing sector”.

He said: “The future of the cable industry in Nigeria and Africa is huge and we are investing in the long term into this.

“The value of our business invested over the last 20 years is in excess of N700 billion. We getting close to $500 million expenses in this business and it only growing. Majorly in the last 20 years but in the last 10years, we have expended alot with support from the financial sector to actually grow massively. The major growth for Coleman was in the last 10 years but the starting strategy was 20years ago.”

Also, Executive Director of Coleman Wires and Cables, Mr. Michael Onafowokan, said that the incessant grid collapse is as a result of rate of development not matching the rate of growth.

He pointed out that infrastructure is the major cause of the continuous breakdown. Onafowokan said: “Infrastructure cannot meet the rate of development. So we need to increase the infrastructure on the distribution side, which is where we are very active.”.