Following the removal of fuel subsidies by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, pub owners in Bauchi state have bemoaned low patronage.
The number of people who typically unwind and socialise at some bars and establishments in the evenings has drastically decreased since the fuel subsidy removal was put into effect, according to newsmen who visited some of the neighbourhood pubs.
Chuks Peter, the owner of a beer parlour, told a Daily Post correspondent that while his establishment continues to incur excessive expenses, the number of his customers has drastically decreased.
In his words, ” Since the removal of the fuel subsidy, we’ve had more expenses and low income. We buy fuel often, especially due to the poor power supply. Before the fuel subsidy was removed people would come from far away to drink in my bar but now that the transportation is very high, they’ve stopped coming.”
He added that “People have decided to stay in their homes and this is causing us a lot of pain. Those that are supplying us have also added money to their stock. As you know in business, the higher the price, the lower the demand. That’s how we’ve been badly affected because the prices of everything we buy have now increased.
This is as Peter begged for quick government intervention before things get out of hand.
” The government should do something or they should try and reduce the price of fuel because then we buy fuel around N300 but now It’s 550 plus per litre. If you buy fuel of N3000, it can’t sustain you unless you won’t put it on for the whole day but that’s not possible due to the erratic power supply.
“We have to buy like N8000 fuel and If you calculate N8,000 daily in a month, you will know how much it is. Meanwhile, In a carton of Lager beer, the gain we make is not up to N1,000 and you will still have to pay your workers. Honestly, we are running at a loss”
In a similar vein, Joseph Isaac, the manager of Bubees, a local pub in the Gwallamejj area of Bauchi, urged the Federal Government to increase the salaries of civil servants to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal.
He said the increment will force the private enterprises to also jerk up salaries.
He said Bauchi is a Civil Service state where people depend solely on salaries adding that the development has forced most people to now stay at home.