The National Butchers Association, Oyo State chapter has announced an increase in the price of meat, effective Monday.
This, the association attributed to the high cost of transportation and other rising running costs.
Chairman of the association in the state, Mr Wahab Olayiwola made this known during a prayer session at the Agodi Gate prayer ground, Ibadan.
He noted that the butchers was not immune from inflation and the rise in prices of remaining in business, resulting in the latest increase.
He urged residents of the state to bear with the development, saying they were boxed to the corner to announce the increase.
Olayiwola, however, said the intervention of the government would help save their business from collapse and enable them to live meaningful lives.
To this end, he sought the government to give the butchers soft loans and provide the enabling environment for them to sell at cheaper prices.
Speaking in the same vein, the Southwest Coordinator of the butchers, Mr Biliaminu Elesinmeta said the association believed in prayers hence its resort to praying for God’s intervention in the present state of the nation, which they described as tough.
Elesinmeta said: “We want to urge the government to assist us and see how the price of goods and services can come down. It is not our fault that we are increasing the price of meat. We sell what we buy.
“We need the assistance of government, Nigerians don’t rear cows; they supply us.
“These cows are from neighbouring countries like Chad, Niger, and Mali and we buy using CFA. Also, the cost of transporting these cows are very costly.”
Other members who spoke at the event lamented that they were running on loss, urging government at all levels to intervene to make their business worthwhile.