Follow Us on Google
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has described President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms as a “monumental failure”, accusing the Federal Government of allowing businesses to collapse despite increasing domestic and foreign borrowing.
Atiku said farmers, manufacturers and bakers were struggling with rising production costs, high energy prices and expensive credit, warning that the economic pressures were forcing productive businesses out of operation.
He made the remarks in a statement issued on Saturday by Phrank Shaibu, his Director of Strategic Communications, following revelations that the bakery industry had lost a significant number of operators and jobs in the last two years.
The Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria (PBAN) had disclosed that it lost about 40 per cent of its membership within two years due to high energy costs, expensive loans and rising production expenses.
Speaking at an event in Lagos on Thursday, PBAN President, Emmanuel Onuorah, said the industry had also lost about 40 per cent of its jobs during the period.
He identified rising prices of flour, sugar, fats and oils, packaging materials and transportation as major challenges confronting bakery operators. According to him, energy accounts for about half of production costs, while some businesses are being offered loans at interest rates of up to 34 per cent.
PBAN Financial Secretary, Hadijat Olopade, said her bakery’s monthly diesel expenditure had increased from about ₦9 million to ₦19 million, even as the business struggled to raise bread prices.
She added that a small bakery could require between ₦40 million and ₦50 million to switch to alternative energy sources, including compressed natural gas.
Reacting, Atiku said the difficulties confronting bakers reflected what he described as the broader failure of the Tinubu administration’s economic policies.
“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,” he said.
“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 former vice-president also cited rising cooking gas prices, which he said had reached ₦1,800 per kilogramme in Abuja and ₦1,650 in parts of Lagos and Ogun states.
He urged the Federal Government to address high energy costs and the shortage of affordable financing, warning that the situation was pushing businesses out of operation. Atiku said his proposed administration would prioritise local production across different sectors, beyond crude oil refining.
“From farmers to manufacturers and now bakers, the verdict on Tinubu’s economic reforms cannot be clearer: they have been a monumental failure,” he said.
“The major policy plank of my administration will be to improve local production in every sphere of the economy, not just crude oil refining.”
