The Chief Executive Officer, DewDrops Cakes Limited, Mrs Ezinne Okonkwo, has called on the federal and state governments to come to the aid of bakers.
Okonkwo, at a briefing in Lagos on Thursday, said many bakers were abandoning he confectionery business because of the rising cost of production.
She said, “We want the government to come to our aid; this is serious like a SOS call. Diesel price is high, a lot of bakers have left their businesses, and have gone back to their homes. We want the government to come, we don’t know how they will do it, but we need cost of these things to go down.
“As of March, I used to spend less than N250, 000 on diesel, but now my running cost is around N1.2m to N1.5m weekly. I had to close my night shift; I no longer bake in the night because I cannot afford to run 24 hours diesel.”
Speaking about the upcoming ‘Uncut Learning’ bakers’ seminar, she said, “We need policies that will make our businesses thrive. The ‘Uncut Learning’ gives us that leverage where we discuss with the government and other stakeholders.
Okonkwo added that the event is scheduled to hold between September 5 and 7 in Lagos.