Artisans in Otun-Ekiti in Ekiti on Saturday appealed to the Federal Government to assist them to regulate the prices of essential commodities this new year.
Some of the artisans, who spoke with journalists in Otun-Ekiti, said that the coronavirus pandemic and the increase in price of petrol last year had affected their businesses.
They lamented that the prices of most essential commodities and food stuffs have all gone up.
One of the artisans, Mrs Feyisayo Ogunrinde, a hair stylist, said that the prices of weavons, hairdryer and among other materials used in her trade had all gone up.
Ogunrinde said that most of her colleagues in the business have been struggling to ensure that their business did not fold up.
She appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to help them to regulate the prices of the essential commodities to enable them to expand their businesses.
Another artisan, Mr Bode Ogundipe, a shoemaker, appealed to both the state and Federal Government to make the raw materials affordable by regulating their prices.
Ogundipe said that most of the prices of the leather materials they use in making shoes and bags were becoming very expensive for him and his colleagues.
Mr Goke Agunbiade, a welder, who also spoke to our correspondent, appealed to the Federal Government to show concern in the financial challenges facing artisans.
He said that the prices of iron have increased and he could not afford to build an iron gate which he would display for sale in his workshop.
He said that most businesses owned by artisans in Otun-Ekiti have crumbled because they could not raise money to sustain them.
Agunbiade urged the government to regulate the prices of commodities in order to stabilise their businesses.
A furniture maker, Biodun Ojo, said that he has not been able to raise enough money to buy woods to build chairs, television stands, among others, which he would offer for sale.
Ojo said that a lot of them depend on their businesses to feed their families, adding that they needed financial support from the state government.
He appealed to the Federal Government to consider the plight of the artisans and regulate the prices of commodities.