Get Guardian on Google…As cooking gas hits ₦1,800 per kg in Abuja, ₦1,650 in Lagos, Ogun
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has blamed the rising cost of doing business under President Bola Tinubu’s administration for the loss of nearly 40 per cent of the Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria’s membership in two years.
Atiku said soaring energy costs, high interest rates and rising production expenses had forced several bakeries to shut down, resulting in job losses and higher bread prices for millions of Nigerian households.
In a statement issued in Bauchi on Saturday by his Director of Strategic Communication and Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said he was in the state to continue advocating his affordable life campaign and sympathise with Nigerians struggling with the economic impact of government policies.
He described the association’s membership decline as evidence of the pressure facing businesses operating in Nigeria’s high-cost economy.
The former vice president said the consequences were already evident across the country, with bakery closures, job losses and rising bread prices making life harder for households that depend on bread as a staple.
He noted that the pressure extended beyond bakeries, citing the rising cost of cooking gas, which he said had reached ₦1,800 per kilogram in Abuja and ₦1,650 in parts of Lagos and Ogun states.
According to the statement, depot prices of cooking gas reportedly increased by 31.8 per cent in one month, from ₦1,100 to ₦1,450 per kilogram, further compounding the financial burden on households.
Atiku said energy costs account for about half of bakery production expenses, citing the case of an operator whose monthly diesel bill reportedly increased from ₦9 million to ₦19 million.
He added that small-scale bakeries could require between ₦40 million and ₦50 million to switch to alternative energy sources, while businesses seeking loans face interest rates of up to 34 per cent.
Atiku said: “From farmers to manufacturers and now bakers, the verdict on Tinubu’s economic reforms cannot be clearer: they have been a monumental failure.
“The irony is that while the economy is falling under Bola Tinubu’s watch, his government has accumulated local and foreign loans in astronomical figures. If local businesses are dying while the government continues to borrow, Nigerians are entitled to ask where these loans are going. One is forced to conclude that they are feeding the corruption in Tinubu’s government.
“The major policy plank of my administration will be to improve local production in every sphere of the economy, not just crude oil refining.
“To farmers, manufacturers, bakers and everyone involved in local production: the Atiku Economic Recovery Plan understands your pains, and your concerns are captured in my policy objectives.”
He called on the Federal Government to urgently address rising energy costs and the lack of affordable financing, warning that continued pressure on productive businesses could trigger further closures, job losses and increases in the prices of essential goods.
The former vice president reaffirmed his commitment to promoting local production, protecting jobs and reducing the cost of living for Nigerian families.
