Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has blamed President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies for the closure of nearly 40 per cent of businesses under the Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria (PBAN) over the last two years, warning that soaring energy costs and high interest rates are crippling domestic enterprises.
In a statement issued in Bauchi on Saturday morning, November 14, 2026, by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and Director of Strategic Communication of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described the widespread shutdown of bakeries as a “stark indictment” of the current administration’s economic management.
The remarks were made while the ADC presidential candidate was in Bauchi State for his ongoing “Affordable Life” nationwide campaign tour.
According to Shaibu, the former Vice President noted that escalating production expenses have forced small and medium-scale operators out of business, triggering substantial job losses and driving up the retail price of bread, a daily staple for millions of Nigerian households.
“The collapse of so many bakery businesses is a stark indictment of an economy where soaring energy costs, crushing interest rates and rising production expenses are forcing businesses to close and Nigerians to pay more for basic food,” the statement read.
Atiku’s intervention follows industry disclosures made earlier in the week on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, during PBAN’s fourth annual Day-Out Exhibition and Masterclass held in Lagos.
Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, themed “Baking Through the Economic Storm: Innovation, Efficiency and Growth for a Sustainable Industry” PBAN President, Engr. Emmanuel Onuorah, reported that energy expenses now consume roughly half of total bakery production costs.
Onuorah detailed that cooking gas (LPG) prices had climbed to ₦1,800 per kilogram in Abuja and ₦1,650 in parts of Lagos and Ogun states following a 31.8 per cent surge in depot prices within a single month, while monthly diesel expenses for individual operators had risen from ₦9 million to ₦19 million.
He also noted that transitioning a small bakery to alternative hybrid diesel and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) systems requires between ₦40 million and ₦50 million, yet commercial banks quote interest rates between 33 and 34 per cent, while no PBAN member has successfully accessed single-digit intervention loans from the Bank of Industry (BOI).
Corroborating the financial strain during the Lagos event, the Chairman of the Organising Committee for the PBAN Day-Out conference, Hadijat Olopade, stated that commercial lending rates of 34 per cent far exceed average bakery profit margins, which currently sit below 30 per cent.
In his Saturday statement, Atiku urged the Federal Government to address energy pricing and unlock affordable, single-digit credit facilities for real-sector operators.
He warned that continued inaction would accelerate business closures, deepen unemployment, and push basic food items further out of reach for ordinary citizens, while reiterating his commitment to policies aimed at protecting local production and lowering the cost of living.
