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Tag: HAWKERS

  • Niger Gov bans taxation of hawkers, petty traders

    Niger Gov bans taxation of hawkers, petty traders

    Niger State Governor, Umaru Mohammed Bago, has announced that hawkers and petty traders in the state are now exempt from paying taxes.

    Speaking at the Government House in Minna, Bago condemned the harassment and exploitation of small traders through multiple taxation. 

    He warned that anyone caught demanding taxes from them would face strict penalties.

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    “We have observed with dismay how petty traders and hawkers are being exploited with multiple taxes. As a government, we have resolved that henceforth, no hawker or petty trader should be taxed in the state.

    “Hawkers and petty traders are tax-free in Niger State. Anybody found taxing them will be dealt with decisively for extortion,” he declared.

    The governor also directed local government chairmen and councillors to enforce the new policy, emphasizing that the state’s centralized tax system exempts hawkers and petty traders from taxation.

  • LCC to get tough with hawkers

    The Lekki Concession Company Limited (LCC) is to impose stiffer sanctions against hawkers on the Eti-Osa Lekki-Epe Expressway.

    The Managing Director of the Company, Mr. Mubashiru Hassan, gave this hint during the week in a statement while reviewing the activities of the hawkers on the expressway.

    Hassan said even though the efforts of the company against the hawkers in the last two years had yielded positive results, the company was still not comfortable sighting hawkers in some of its catchment areas.

    He pointed out that the activities of the hawkers not only impede the free flow of traffic, “but also constitute a threat to lives and properties on the expressway. Some of them are rogues pretending to be hawkers. Their activities on the expressway constitute an embarrassment, hence the company is seeking stiffer penalties in conjunction with the court of competent jurisdiction in Lagos State in order to take them away from our catchment areas”.

    The company boss noted that one of the cardinal functions of the company is to protect lives and properties on the expressway, hence it would employ all means to eradicate all activities that constitute a threat to lives and properties along the axis.

    He warned motorists plying the expressway not to patronize hawkers in order not to endanger their lives and properties.

    Meanwhile, not less than 20 people, including hawkers, have been arrested and prosecuted by the combined security operatives of LCC at the Ikoyi Special Offences Magistrate Court for hawking and obstructing the free flow of traffic on the Eti-Osa Lekki-Epe Expressway in the last two weeks.

  • Ekiti school-age hawkers

    • The trend must be arrested

    Apparently worried at the number of children of school age who hawk in the state during school hours, an exasperated governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has threatened to order the arrest of parents of such minors as one of the measures to arrest the drastic decline in the rate of enrolment into schools. Speaking in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, during a meeting of stakeholders in the education sector, Fayemi lamented that “the current school enrolment rate of 55 per cent as against 96 per cent recorded in 2014 is unacceptable to this government. Something must be done urgently to reverse the situation.”

    Restating the belief of his administration in the catalytic role of education in development, the governor said: “Part of the responsibilities of government is to ensure that children and youths, who are the future of the nation, are properly groomed through qualitative education that will prepare them for the future”.

    It was obviously to achieve this objective that Fayemi, immediately on assumption of office in October, 2018, abolished all education levies as well as the education tax imposed by the preceding administration, while also introducing a policy of free education in public primary and secondary schools. The continuing low enrolment level of school pupils and the attendant high incidence of street hawking by children indicate, unfortunately, that these progressive educational policies are not having the desired effect.

    While applauding the seriousness that the Ekiti State government attaches to children attending school, the arrest of uncooperative parents can only have the desired effect if elementary education is made not only free but also compulsory. In that case, parents who refuse to send their children to school would be violating the law and thus subject not just to arrest but also to prosecution and punishment.

    Again, the ramification of the problem goes beyond those children found hawking during school hours. Children who are forced to undertake the stressful activity of hawking after school hours are exposed to a double jeopardy. First, they may have to review their notes or do their homework, which are critical parts of the education process, at night when they should be resting in preparation for school the next day. Secondly, they are vulnerable to accidents on the highways as well as the evil activities of assorted criminals. In other words, street trading by underage children is undesirable both during and after school hours.

    But then, we come to the most fundamental aspect of the problem, which is the poverty dimension. Most families are forced to utilise their children as street traders or give them out as hired labour when they should be in school because of the extreme poverty among a substantial number of the populace. With the high rate of unemployment, the negative impact of the protracted economic crisis on the informal sector and the inability of the vast majority of Nigerians to access credit for small scale businesses, the meagre amounts that children hawkers make daily means so much to their families.

    In such a situation, it is important to sensitise parents to the fact that educating their children and equipping them with the requisite skills to function in the contemporary global economy is the most feasible opportunity to lift families out of poverty in the long run. Meanwhile, governments across the board must intensify the war against corruption as well as drastically cut down on wasteful expenditure in order to make more resources available to deepen and expand ongoing social intervention programmes.

    Other states should emulate Ekiti in making the issue of out-of-school children an urgent priority. For, this is a grave and portentous social challenge in a country where over 13.2 million children reportedly belong to this endangered category.

     

     

  • Police seize N759,200 cash from four hawkers

    Police seize N759,200 cash from four hawkers

    THE police have arrested four suspected currency hawkers, seizing N759,200 from them.

    They were arrested on Tuesday during a raid on the vendors at Ojuelegba and Tinubu Square.

    Akeem Adeyemi, 40, Rasheed Ajibade, 34, Aisha Babatunde, 28, and Salman Suleiman,   were caught during a sting operation by the police, the Department of State Services (DSS) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Babatunde, from Kwara State , said he started the business last year after receiving a start-up capital of N50,000 from an unidentified boss at Ijora.

    “My friend introduced me into the business. I started with N50,000 new notes supplied to me by someone. And I normally would gain about N2,000 or N3,000 from the sale of N20,000 new notes and N5,000 from N50,000. I don’t know how the money is sourced. I’m only a merchant. I usually collected from Ijora,” he said.

    Ajibade said he took to the business because he could not find a job. He said : “I was arrested for trading at Tinubu where I work. I started the business with N200,000 about three years ago. I renew my stock with those who make them available for us. We don’t directly get it from banks. Some people just come around to offer the new notes for sale and we buy from them. Unemployment lured me into the business.”

    Adeyemi said he joined the trade four years ago following the confiscation of his wares on Lagos Island.  He  said: “This is the first time I got arrested. I was a cloth seller before the Central Business District (CBD) officials confiscated my goods.”

    Police spokesman Chike Oti, a Superintendent (SP),  said their arrest was predicated on the CBN law which forbids the sale of naira notes.  He said the suspects would be charged to court after investigation.

    “On Tuesday, the police  and the DSS in collaboration with the CBN carried out a sting operation aimed at forestalling illicit sale of the country’s currency notes. The clamp down on the naira vendors and sellers is hinged on Sections 20 and 21 of the CBN Act that make it a punishable offence for anybody to hawk or otherwise trade the naira notes. Four suspects comprising three men and a woman were arrested at Ojuelegba and Tinubu Square during a raid supervised by the Commissioner of Police (CP) Edgal Imohimi. A sum of N759,200 consisting of various denominations were recovered from the suspects. Investigations have already commenced to ascertain the source or otherwise of the new naira notes.”

    The police, Oti added, would continue to collaborate with the DSS and the CBN to ensure that the perpetrators of the offence face the law.

    According to Oti, roughening and damaging of the national currency will not be tolerated.

    “Acts of spraying the naira notes at functions, soiling and writing on it, squeezing it as well as hawking it are abuse of naira and are punishable. We want to use this opportunity to appeal to the public to desist from abusing the naira as it is one of the symbols of identity,” he said.

  • NCC to begin prosecution of pre-registered SIM cards hawkers

    NCC to begin prosecution of pre-registered SIM cards hawkers

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday warned that the full weight of the law would be visited on those hawking pre-registered SIM cards in spite of the raids carried out by the commission this year.

    NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management Mr. Sunday Dare, who sounded the warning, insisted that those selling and buying pre-registered SIM cards were breaking the law.

    Dare, who spoke with The Nation on the monitoring of compliance and enforcement of SIM Registration activities by NCC, maintained that imposition of sanctions on perpetrators of illegal activities would continue.

    He said prosecution of offenders would be stepped up in a final push to curb the menace because of its security implications.

    According to him, the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Nigerian Communications Commission and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps will boost operations in this area.

    He added that this year alone, the NCC has imposed about N250 million fines on the telecom operators through the commission’s Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Unit.

    Dare said several joint raids and arrests have also been made.

    “This is a continuous exercise until we get to zero level. There is a renewed push and soon virtually all pre-registered SIM cards will be unplugged from the country’s mobile networks through the new technological solution the commission will soon put in place,” he said.

    A task force set up two weeks ago by NCC is set to announce some drastic measures which may result in huge sanctions on defaulting operators.

    It was discovered that the operators have started to clean up their internal systems in apparent fear that NCC will soon come down hard on them.

  • In Ogun, crackdown on erring drivers, hawkers continues

    Commercial drivers in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, who pick and drop passengers on the highways had a bad experience as their vehicles were impounded during a joint task force operation which began from Sango-Tollgate on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway. The seven-hour operation began by 7:00 a.m. and ended at 1:00 p.m.

    The operation, led by Sango Ota Deputy Area Commander, Superintendent of Police (SP) Camillus Okoye. Others in the team were the Sango Divisional Police Officer Sola Ogunwale, Sango Divisional Traffic Officer (DTO) Adekunle Awoniyi, Ota Unit Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Kunle Oguntoyinbo, Ota Divisional Commander, Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) Adekunle Ariyo Ajibade, Ota Divisional Commander, Vehicle Inspection Officer (VIO) Paul Kehinde Osukoya and the Ogun State Vigilance Service.

    The DPO warned traders and hawkers to desist from displaying their wares on the road in order to facilitate free flow of traffic. He said it was impossible for any driver whose vehicle brakes were faulty to manoeuvre when the road is blocked.

    Chairman of Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government, Prince Bashiru Oladele Adeniji, said his administration would not lift the ban on trading, picking and dropping of passengers on the road sides.

    He noted that it was his vision to see the local government environment free of traffic jam.

    He spoke through the Secretary to the local government, Adewale Adegoke Dada, when he visited Ota Command’s office of Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE).

    Reacting to the incessant crashes on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway and other roads across the council, he said crashes had claimed lives and properties worth millions of Naira destroyed.

    The chairman denied that the council officials were collecting money from the street traders.

    He said: ‘’There is no truth in the allegation that the council encourages insanity at the Tollgate by collecting money from traders and allocating spaces to them in order to display their goods.  We’ve just completed cleaning of Oju-Ore. Tollgate is the next port of visit.”

    According to him, it is difficult for vehicles to manoeuvre their way in case of brake failure or other mechanical fault because 75 per cent of the road had been blocked by traders and illegal/indecent parking by commercial transporters.

    He said the council would continue to partner traffic agencies, the police, military and paramilitary to restore sanity on all roads across the local government.

    According to Prince Adeniji, the exercise began from Oju-Ore with the Department of Environmental Sanitation sealing off the shops of some traders who breached environmental laws while goods of traders were seized to ensure compliance with the traffic and environmental laws.

    He appealed to Ado-Odo/Ota residents to obey traffic rules, saying anyone that breaches traffic and environmental laws would be prosecuted according to the established laws of the state.

    Ajibade said eradicating indiscriminate parking, picking and dropping of passengers on the road by commercial drivers, and hawking were the target of the joint task operation. He said it will be a continuous exercise until sanity returns to the highway.

  • Motorists, hawkers, buyers held for ‘illegal street trading’

    Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps Agency (LASECORPS) operatives have apprehended motorists, buyers and hawkers at Oshodi.
    They were subsequently arraigned at the Samuel Ilori Court in Ogba. The impounded vehicles are Honda Accent marked MUS-479DE; Hiace – LSR-272XP; Toyota Hilux – KRD-389XE; Sienna – JJJ745DQ; taxi cab – GGE 149XG and a commercial bus – LSD-348EH.
    Magistrate Ogundare Olayiwola sentenced the hawkers and their customers to three months imprisonment with N10, 000 fine option.
    In a statement, LASECORPS said it would henceforth, arrest buyers, sellers and motorists for “illegal street trading
    The agency said it was poised to stop “Illegal Street trading” adding, “if there are no buyers, there would be no sellers.

  • 12 naira hawkers held in CBN, police raid

    12 naira hawkers held in CBN, police raid

    Twelve persons have been arrested in a raid on naira hawkers by the police and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) officials.

    Operatives of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department  (SCIID) in Panti, Yaba, Lagos Mainland led the CBN officials on the onslaught .

    The hawkers were alleged to be involved in the sale of mint naira notes, contrary to Section 21 of the CBN Act, 2007.

    Among the suspects are Fausat Jimoh, Bisoye Oyegbile, Balikis Ajadi, Bisola Amoru, Abidemi Oladejo and Ajoke Suraj, who were said to have sold mint notes at social events.

    Parading the suspects, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in charge of SCIID, said six others were apprehended penultimate weekend.

    He said: “We are clamping down on those abusing our currency. It is an offence to sell Naira notes at weddings or any gathering. It contravenes the CBN Act. We arrested six suspects the previous weekend and last Friday, we arrested six others.

    “We recovered N35,500 from these suspects but N465,000 was recovered from those arrested last week. They would be charged to court as soon as possible.

    “Investigation would reveal how these suspects come about these new currencies. We are going to get to the root of it because the offence is punishable with N50,000 fine, or six months imprisonment or both.

    “No good country would allow her currency to be abused in anyway. That’s what we are guarding against. The CBN is out to enforce the law and we would give them the necessary backing.”

    CBN official, who refused to be named, said it is believed that some CBN workers and Deposit Money Banks (DMB) were behind the illegal trade.

    Besides, he said the CBN would clampdown on celebrators in whose parties, the hawkers are found.

    He said: “We know that these are not the real targets because if they don’t get the mint notes, they won’t be able to sell them. So, our main targets are commercial banks and even our staff who release the money to these vendors. Once these suspects confess and mention their names, we would go after them.

    “We are also going to start arresting people who organise events and allow those selling naira notes in their venues. Already, we have started arresting people who spray money at social events. Sanity must return to our system and our currency must be respected.”

    Ajadi said low patronage of her hair dressing business pushed her into the trade.

    She said she made N200 on each bundle of mint notes.

    Oyegbile said N37,500 was seized from her.

    She claimed that some of their money were usually stolen whenever they are raided.

    Asked how she got the notes, she named one Abdulahi as her supplier, adding that some of her colleagues get from banks.

  • Task force dislodges traders, hawkers from Tinubu arcade

    The operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit (Task Force) led by the Chairman, Olayinka Egbeyemi, a Superintendent of Police and officials of Kick Against Indiscipline ‘KAI’ on Saturday dislodged street traders/hawkers around ‘Tinubu Monumental Arcade’ located at Lagos Island Local government area.

    The operation is in furtherance of the government’s promise to protect all monumental arcades from street traders/hawkers and other environmental nuisances.

    The government had said that many of these ‘Monumental Arcades’ were “primarily meant to preserve our cultural heritage and to serve as archives for academic research”, others were provided just for relaxation and were named after heroes of this country.

    The ‘Tinubu Arcade’ which was re-constructed by the present administration was named after Madam Efunroye Tinubu (1810 – 1887), a female aristocrat and a female trader during pre-colonial period in Nigeria.

    Egbeyemi said environmental nuisances particularly street trading/hawking around Tinubu Square and all other ‘Monumental Arcades’ provided by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is worrisome.

    He urged market leaders across the state to warn traders and hawkers to immediately stop displaying and selling wares besides and around all monumental arcades.

    He advised traders not to extend their trading activities beyond areas strictly earmarked for market by the government as anyone arrested selling on road setbacks and walkways would be charged to courts and have their wares confiscated.

    Meanwhile, the Task Force has relocated from Ikeja to Multi-purpose Agency complex, Bolade Oshodi opposite the Arena complex.

    According to government, the relocation which equally affected some other government agencies was meant to strengthen their operations.

    Other government agencies affected with the relocation exercise includes Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Kick against Indiscipline (KAI), Nigeria Legion, Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Mobile Courts.

  • A crackdown on overhead bridge hawkers

    A crackdown on overhead bridge hawkers

    The Federal Capital Territory has taken steps to ensure that hawkers steer clear of overhead bridges, GRACE OBIKE reports

    The daily tragic drama on the roads is coming to end. Pedestrians often shun the overhead bridges and enact a sprint across the busy expressways at a huge cost to themselves. Many have been hit and injured or killed by fast-moving vehicles.

    The administration of the territory had long warned of the dangers of not using the bridges but many residents would not. Now, the administration is enforcing the order, by clearing the bridges of hawkers and the destitute.

    The FCT administration on its part has attempted on several occasions to implement laws that will force residents to use such bridges, in some cases, fences have been built in places like Nicon and some strategic locations in Abuja to prevent residents from crossing the road but such fences are in most cases pulled down.

    To prove the administration’s readiness to curb street hawkers and enforce the use of the overhead bridges, Minister of the FCT Malam Muhammad Bello visited the pedestrian bridge in Ludge, a village along the Airport Road.

    There, he reiterated that such bridges were constructed for easy movement and passage of residents crossing the highways but not meant for hawking, begging or for other nuisances and therefore a stop must be put to it forthwith.

    He directed the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) and the FCT Task Team on Environment to as a matter of urgency stop hawkers using pedestrian bridges for their activities in the Federal Capital Territory.

    Deputy Director/Chief Press Secretary FCT, Muhammad Sule made the revelation in a press statement where he credited the minister with warning warned that hawking and other activities are not acceptable on the Pedestrian bridges across the Territory and called for strict enforcement.

    He quoted the minister saying, “The Administration is not prepared to take excuses anymore; saying that they must carry out their statutory duty.

    “Malam Bello also instructed that the AEPB and the Task Team must also get rid of herdsmen still grazing in the Federal Capital City; noting, “you must find a way in dealing with that bizarre situation”.

    “He seized that opportunity to talk to the crowd gathered around the pedestrian bridge on why people should not use such places as shopping malls.

    “He told them that pedestrian bridges were also not constructed for miscreants and further warned that all activities must be very far away from the expressway ways.

    “These expressways are the gateway into the Federal Capital City and the seat of power of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and therefore everything must be done to keep Abuja clean from all environmental nuisances in line with the vision of its founding fathers,” Malam Bello stressed.

    The Director of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Olanipekun and the Chairman of the FCT Task Team on Environment, Squadron Leader Abdullahi Adamu Monjel, accompanied the Minister on the unscheduled visit and promised to implement the law.