Over 2m Nigerians risk losing jobs due to high cost of baking– Expert

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

Over two million Nigerians are on the brink of losing their job following increased cost of ingredients in the bakery industry.
The former vice President of the Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN) Prince Ayodele Arokoyo Martin asserted this while speaking to the media during the inauguration of the Kaduna State Executives of the Association yesterday.
According to him, gone are the days when you would visit a baker and go home with a loaf of bread. Now, even the workers in bakeries have to pay to have a loaf.
He added that Bread is easy to consume, with or without a combination and it is a global food that is common to man, it is produced and consumed all over the world.
He however lamented that due to the current development arising from the high cost of ingredients where a bag of flour costs about 51,000 nairas, and sugar is 78,000 naira, many bakery owners are shutting down businesses, while some are reducing the sizes and increasing the prices of bread to make ends meet.
Prince Arokoyo who is the CEO of Multi plus Consult LTD, and a member of National Bakers Trust, said this is a challenge because there is already insecurity in the country, inflation, and government policies are not favourable to citizens, this unfortunate event will pull more Nigerians down the poverty line.
“The government should look at interventions that are helpful by consulting stakeholders in the food industry.
“They can liaise with companies producing flour and sugar to see how they can reduce the price of the goods. Reactivate the agenda on the call for cassava bread because it is a good substitute for bread production.
“It is one of the things the former president, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan advocated for and invested into but we never researched on what went wrong with the project.”