there are indications that as we approach the ned of the month of February bread may disappear from the dining tables across the country. This is as a result of a threat by the Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria, AMBCON. It says that it was driven to issue the threat because of the reluctance of the federal government to implement the financial support promised it as post-COVID-19 support programme. The support was to be for the small and medium scale Enterprisies. They claimed that the association has lost over 40 percent of its members due to the downturn in business.
This was made known in a statement by Mansur Umar, national president of AMBCON, which was made public by Chiuef Gabriel Adeniyi, the Kogi State chairman of the association. AMBCON said it would withdraw its service nationwide from February 27, should the Federal government refuse to implement the agreement it entered into with the association in 2020. The association also asked for the suspension of all forms of taxation on the bakery industry for now at the federal, state and local government levels.
Umar emphasized that the decision to withdraw its services was due to the “multifarious increase in the prices of baking materials such as flour, sugar, yeast, vegetable oil, petrol, diesel all occasioned by subsidy removal and forex deregulation.”Not only that, the association added that “Multiple taxations from several federal, state, local government agencies fees and levies, hike in business activities in Nigeria are also some of the reasons for the impending strike action.”It, therefore, asked the government to as a matter of urgency consider some of the measures that can ease the business atmosphere for its members. Umar said, “The Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria have critically accessed the state of our business operation, consequently demand the liberalisation of flour and sugar importation, reduction or total removal of import duties on major baking materials such as flour, sugar, butter, yeast etc as applicable to other commodities as have recently been done by the federal government and Provision of concessionary forex exchange to flour millers and other stakeholders as well as reduction of tariff on imported wheat and sugar.”
