Residents of Yobe State have lamented the scarcity of bread after bakers in the state embarked on a two-day strike over the incessant increase in baking commodity prices.
The industrial action which commenced last Friday, has plunged thousands of families across the state into untold hardship.
DAILY POST observed that bread shelves in many grocery stores as well as tea spots within Damaturu, the state capital, were empty, indicating a break in the supply chain.
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One of the visibly furious consumers, while narrating his ordeal to DAILY POST at the frontage of a grocery store, said, “I didn’t know that local bakers are on strike.
“I came to buy bread for my family only to be told that there is no bread, because local bakers are on strike.
“It saddened me, but there is nothing one can do”.
Usman Mohammed, a 39-year-old man, who claims to have bread as breakfast on a daily basis, said the situation has forced him to resort to other alternatives.
One Abdu Ali said, “If this continues, we would be compelled to start producing bread at home for use by our families”.
Another consumer who spoke under anonymity lamented by saying, “It is unfortunate, the bread that we use as a food supplement to support our poor families is no longer within our reach”.
It was gathered that the cost of yeast, baking powder, flour, sugar and margarine among other commodities used for bread production have skyrocketed, thereby affecting the general cost of production.
Babawuro Maishayi, Chairman of Association of Tea Sellers in Damaturu, said the action has inflicted a heavy lost on their members whom were not aware of the planned strike as the bakers didn’t
“The bakers didn’t inform us about the planned strike.
“We only had a meeting with them prior to industrial action where they (bakers) lamented over the hike in the prices of bakery items. And we backed them on the proposed increase in the prices of units of bread.
“We are not happy with the bakers’ decision as all our members have prepared tea for sale and later found out that bread factories have shut down due to the strike”, Maishayi frowned.
Reports have it that, Damaturu Bakers Association has temporarily banned bread suppliers from neighboring states into Yobe to enforce the two-day industrial action.
