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Tag: Traders

  • Tinubu-Ojo, traders seek support for Buhari, Sanwo-Olu

    The Iyaloja-General, Chief Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, and Mile 12 traders yesterday mobilised voters in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State to support the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

    The Iyaloja, who addressed a rally, said: “I believe we are ready for the next level. As we have campaigned today, we shall come back to celebrate next Sunday. We would vote, monitor the process and see through the counting. Vote for President Muhammadu Buhari and other APC candidates across board.”

    The Chairman of the Mile 12 Market, Alhaji Haruna Mohammed, said: “We have been massively voting the APC and would do so again this time. It is APC all the way as far as we are concerned. Our members would vote for President Buhari and Babajide Sanwo-Olu.”

    Senator Bayo Oshinowo (Lagos East), who spoke on behalf of other candidates, said: “The government of Buhari has laid a very strong foundation. Vote for him and Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Our party has been managing the affairs of Lagos State, politically in the last 20 years.

    “If you don’t have confidence in us, you would not keep voting for us. We would not disappoint you.”

    The rally was attended by Prince Rotimi Agunsoye (Kosofe Federal Constituency), lawmaker representing Kosofe Constituency II in the House of Assembly Tuned Braimoh, and others.

  • Scores injured in traders, hoodlums clash at Idi Araba

    Scores were injured during a clash between traders and hoodlums at Idi-Araba Market, on Monday night.

    The clash was sparked by a stolen phone.

    Calm has returned to the area, but many shop remained shut yesterday.

    Butchers also stayed away from the market.

    Some traders gathered in groups to discuss the clash. They were apprehensive of a resurgence.

    About six police patrol vans were at the market. Armed policemen paraded the area. A van of the Lagos State Task Force and Mobile Court was also there.

    A food vendor, who simply identified herself as Mummy Angela, said the fight occurred around 11pm on Monday.

    She said: “I sell food at Idi-Araba Street. I had closed and gone home when the incident occurred, but I was told what happened. Homeless boys usually sleep on this street, but last night (Monday), they gathered, covered their faces such that only their eyes, nose and mouth could be seen so that no one would identify them.

    “About 11pm, they trooped to Idi-Araba market and started fighting the young boys at the market, who retaliated.  Many people were injured. I learnt that a boy was attacked with a machete. He sustained injuries in the head and is in hospital. I gathered that another boy was injured in the chest and he bled a lot. Although I did not hear that anybody died. ”

    A refrigerator technician Baba Sodiq, said he was sleeping in his shop when he heard noises. He said he did not come out.

    “Those boys who fought are jobless. I am here for business. I cannot let those small boys disturb my life. Since they did not attack my shop, I did not go out to meet them. I learnt that a phone was stolen from a hoodlum who sleeps at Idi-Araba Street. He and his friends attacked the other group and this led to the fight.”

    He said the boys fought throughout the night, adding that peace was restored following the arriaval of the police yesterday morning.

    Another food vendor said she only heard about the fight.

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    Police spokesman Chike Oti, a Chief Superintendent (CSP), said the fight involved suspected hoodlums who sleep in the market.

    He said about 15 of them had been arrested, adding that they will be arraigned after investigation.

    “Markets in Lagos State close by 6pm according to the laws guiding operation of markets, except night markets. Nobody is supposed to sleep in the market and nobody should be in the market at the close of business. But these boys sleep in the market. Both groups are illegal. However, our intervention restored law and order.

    “We are appealing to the people to ensure that nobody sleeps in the market and other markets. At the close of activities, everybody should go home and allow security operatives to function,” Oti said.

     

  • Well dislodge railway line traders – Task Force

  • Traders count losses after Aba motor park fire

    Traders at the popular Aba motor park in Umuahia North Local Government of Abia State have lost goods, worth millions, after fire engulfed the park yesterday.

    The cause of the fire could not be ascertained last night. It was, however, gathered that the fire started from a shop used to store Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS).

    Shop owners described their loss as huge.

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    A sympathiser, Dan, said: “The cause of the fire is not known. This is the second time fire would be destroying this park, and it always happens at this time of year.”

    Findings showed that the dry weather aggravated the situation, and men of the fire service were not available to help as the people were shouting “call the fire service.”

    No death was recorded last night but the fire raged on and smoke turned the atmosphere black, especially from the Bende Road towards the railway tower.

     

  • Traders lose millions as fire razes Aba, Kano markets

    Goods and other property estimated at millions of naira have been destroyed in fires at Nkwo Ngwa Market in Aba South Local Government Area of Abia State and at Kasuwar Kurmi (‘Yan Gumama) Market in Kano.

    The fire at the timber and furniture section of Nkwo Ngwa Market razed 156 shops, leaving many families in grief for their losses.

    The Chairman of the market traders’ association, Okechukwu Lawrence, told reporters at the market yesterday that he was informed about the incident on phone around 7 p.m on Saturday.

    Lawrence said he rushed to the scene immediately and he as well as the market’s task force members broke its gates to let in sympathisers to help put out the fire, using water from a borehole.

    “We tried our best before firemen came in. We used water from our borehole to put out the fire.

    “But the hoodlums around later broke the borehole in their bid to steal our pump while the fire was raging.

    “That was how I saw it on Saturday. The fire was too much and it gulped millions of Naira worth of goods and property.

    “We have some building material sellers in all these front shops. The second row of shops is occupied by furniture sellers and dealers in other things.

    “We recorded a very big loss here but there was no loss of life or injury,” he said.

    Lawrence debunked claims that his members attacked the firemen who were on the scene to put out the fire.

    The chairman said some hoodlums, called Aroo Boys, attacked the fire service men.

    He said the Aroo Boys also entered the market, broke into shops, carried rice, stock fish, clothes and other property and left.

    Lawrence said the fire could have been stopped with the help of the fire fighters before it destroyed up to 100 shops.

    According to him, this was hindered by the suspended Ozuomba road project by the state government.

    He urged the government to come to fix the road and attend to other needs in the market.

    Police Commissioner Chris Ezeike, who visited the scene on Sunday morning, said he was there to access the incident and sympathise with the victims.

    Ezeike noted that the section of the market was full of inflammable materials.

    He called for calm and peace, adding that the fire incident, which was said to have been caused by a generator, would be investigated immediately.

    The Senior Special Adviser to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu on Security, Capt. Awa Udonsi (retd.) said he had been notified about the incident and would involve the concerned ministries in the matter.

    Udonsi said he would not take decisions for the governor but assured the people that the government would “do the right thing” in the situation.

    Also, Kano State Fire Service said fire destroyed 77 temporary shops at Kasuwar Kurmi (‘Yan Gumama) Market in Kano.

    The fire service spokesman Saidu Mohammed told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano yesterday that 70 of the shops were destroyed.

    “We received a distress call in the early hours of (Sunday) at 07.35 from Aliyu Ibrahim that there was a fire at the market.

    “We quickly sent some of our personnel and a fire fighting vehicle to the scene at 07.43 a.m to put out the fire so that it would not affect other shops,” he said.

    The spokesman said that 70 of the shops were destroyed while seven others shops were saved due to the quick intervention of the firemen.

    He advised traders and other residents to be more careful and desist from using instruments capable of triggering fire to prevent future occurrence during the dry season.

    Mohammed also advised the people to keep fire buckets, blankets and extinguishers that would enable them curtail the fire before calling on the fire service.

    Mohammed said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

  • Fed Govt gives N15b interest-free loans to traders, says Osinbajo

    THE Federal Government has spent N15 billion on interest-free loans across the country, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday.

    He spoke during the 9th Presidential Quarterly Business Forum at the old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

    According to him, the Federal Government is working with eight banks, which were very committed to the “Trader Moni scheme”.

    He said the administration would make a massive difference if N1 trillion is spent on the poor yearly.

    Stressing that job creation has always been a top priority of the administration, he said the surest way to create jobs was by enabling the private sector.

    He said: “N15.183 billion in interest-free loans ranging from N50,000 to N350,000 have been disbursed to more than 300,000 market women, traders, artisans and farmers across all 36 states and the FCT. By the way, 56% of the loans have gone to women.

    “We took the view that since the largest number of small businesses in Nigeria are the market women and men and petty traders, we needed to expand the opportunities in these categories.

    “Our energising economies project is putting power, especially solar power in markets and commercial clusters. We have powered Ariara Market, Aba; Sabongari Market, Kano; Sura market in Lagos, Isinkan market in Ondo, Bola Ige market in Ibadan, Oyo State and Edaiken market in Benin, Edo State.

    “So, there are actual interactions with the small businesses. Our focus has been to ensure that the regulators understand their role as facilitators not an obstacle to business. We are also establishing one-stop shops in the states, where all regulators are under the same roof in the states.

    “If we spend N1 trillion to bail out the poor in this country every year, we will make a massive difference.”

    He added that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) are among government agencies improving on the ease of doing business.

    The government, he said, is working through the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) to improve the business environment.

    Declaring that the MSME clinics carried out across the country have been a great success, he said he has personally attended 18 of the 20 clinics carried in 20 states so far.

    He said the government also expanded the micro credit to small businesses, under the Government Empowerment & Enterprise Programme (GEEP).

    He hailed the NAFDAC and the CAC for their efforts at improving on the ease of doing business in the country.

    He described the “Trader Moni programme” as one of the most crucial components of expanding opportunity for millions of Nigerian traders by giving micro- credit to the bottom of the trading pyramid.

    “The smallest businesses; the one table trader; the bread or plantain seller or the Mai Shai.

    “This is the largest segment of our working population; their inventory is no more than N5,000 – N10,000. But they are an important part of the value chain of most goods. They sell the single sachets of soap, sugar and spices to the largest numbers of our people. But they are forgotten and ignored in economic plans and budgets and considered too unwieldy and risky for micro credit loans.

    “The N-Power programme is the largest post-tertiary jobs project in Africa, placing 500,000 young people in existing teaching jobs and also identifying new roles they could fill in the health and agriculture sectors.

    “Some of our N-power graduates are also being employed as enumerators for data collection and research because of the new skills they have gained.  In addition to these 500,000 N-Power graduates, we have 20,000 non-graduates working and learning as part of the build programme in various construction, the automotive and technology sectors,” Osinbajo said.

    He announced that government has empowered two million petty traders under the Trader Moni scheme, giving microcredit across the country.

    Osinbajo added that the Federal Government spent N1.7 trillion in capital investment in two budget years. The vice president said infrastructure growth was crucial in economic growth and job creation.

    He hailed the commitment of the participants to expanding the work being done by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) on skills acquisition.

    According to him, there is the need to put emphasis on skill training and placing large numbers of young people in the workplace.

    Osinbajo said that the Federal Government was also looking at solving the power problem.

    He said the Federal Government would review the previous power privatisation and how to enhance capacity of business people by boosting power supply.

  • Trailer kills three traders in market

    A trailer laden with heavy container has killed three traders in a Market in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State.

    The incident occurred in the early hours of yesterday.

    A witness stated the trailer fell off while trying to negotiate a diversion following the very deplorable condition of the Oyigbo/Port Harcourt axis of the Port Harcourt/ Abandon express road.

    Three traders were said to have died from the incident while several others sustained different degrees of injury.

    They have been moved to a nearby hospital for treatment.

    Residents of the area expressed sadness over the incident, stating almost all the roads in the Local government Council had totally collapsed especially during raining season.

    Chibuchi Eze said: “The Oyigbo road is very bad. It is no longer passable and very risky for heavy vehicles to continue to ply it.”

    Another resident, Mrs. Margret Onyeka, decried the inability of the relevant agencies to fix the road, which she described as very crucial to businesses in and out of the oil- producing state of Rivers.

    The incident occurred barely 24 hours after a petroleum tanker loaded with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol skidded off its lane and fell at Garrison Junction, Port Harcourt.

    It spilled its content on the major road, causing havoc as several vehicles especially smaller ones have been recording accidents since the incident.

    However no life was lost in the garrison accidents but vehicles involved in the accident were smashed into wreckages.

    Efforts to reach the State Police Public Relations Officer, Nnamdi Omoni for comments were futile as his mobile phones were switched off.

     

  • Traders protest planned demolition of shops

    Traders at Agbo-Edo market, Nkwo Nnewi, Anambra State, on Friday protested attempted plans by the state government to demolish marked out 320 stalls in the market.

    The traders also called for the immediate suspension of what they called “over taxation” by their market leaders.

    The protesters, who shut down the market, marched round major streets in the industrial community to press home their demands before culminating at the palace of the Nnewi traditional ruler, Igwe Kenneth O. Orizu III.

    The traders, led by Mr Ernest-Mary Ezenwa, alleged high-handedness of the market leadership, under Mr Christopher Osuchukwu.

    They also accused the leadership of collaborating with the state government to demolish traders’ stalls and impose high stall levies.

    The traders said, “Notices of demolition of 320 stalls from the State Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Market and Wealth Creation in agency with Star-Unic Enterprises Limited were pasted at their shops on a Sunday without any arrangement for the affected traders relocation.

    “The Anambra State government imposed a stall age levy of N12,200 per shop in the market and the leaders increased the levy to N13,200.

    “We will not pay anything above what government stipulated.”

    Some of the placards displayed by the traders read: ” No more imposition of illegal levies in Agbo-Edo market, no more structures in our market, we don’t need building of more shops, among others.”

    They called on the Governor, Willie Obiano to intervene in the ugly situation to avert impending crises.

    Addressing the protesters through the Crown Prince, Obi Orizu, Igwe Orizu III called for calm, assuring that their complaints would be given the attention it deserved.

    The monarch promised a meeting with Nnewi North council chairman, Nzuko-Ora (Nnewi town union), other stakeholders including the traders themselves to look into the matter.

    Reacting, chairman of the market association, Mr Christopher Osuchukwu said the traders were served three months notice, which he said, was meant to remove illegal structures in the market, construct drainage and create access roads.

    He however denied any difference from the N12,200 government asked traders to pay, challenging those who accused his leadership of illegal levy to produce a receipt to back up their claims.

  • Traders urge govt to reduce N4m lease on market

    Over 200 traders at the Rauf Aregbesola Market, Egbeda, Lagos, which is being reconstructed, have urged the Lagos State government to reduce the proposed rent.

    They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos that the state government and Mosan-Okunola Local Council Development Area should consider the former shop owners first in allocating the shops.

    The traders condemned the rebuilding of the market before the expiration of the 10-year lease agreement they signed with the government.

    NAN reports that the 30-year-old market was rebuilt by the council during the ex-Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration and named after Rauf Aregbesola, then Works and Infrastructure commissioner.

    NAN learnt that the developers have come up with a new rent regime for a shop with toilet at N4 million, while a shop without toilet costs N3 million. Shops without doors and toilet will go for N800, 000 for a 10-year lease.

    The traders said the agreement signed with the government was to redevelop the market after 10 years of acquisition.

    One of the traders, Mrs. Ajoke Okanlawon, said: “Sadly, the markets and the shops were demolished in the 9th year.

    “I’ve been doing business in the market for 17 years and it is disheartening that we are not consulted by the women leader before fixing exorbitant lease.”

    She implored the government to intervene, “as we cannot afford the high rent being proposed.

    “I rely on sales from this market to raise my children as a single mother. My children are in primary school. The government should be considerate and come up with an affordable rent.”

    Another trader, Mrs. Ijeoma Obi, who sells soup ingredients, said they were given one week notice before the market was demolished.

    “We signed an agreement with the government that the market will be redeveloped after 10 years, but it is nine years and we were only given one week notice to move out. This is embarrassing,” she said.

    Mrs. Ashabi Sanni, who sells on the drainage, said the shops should be leased for N1million, adding that public toilets should be provided for traders and buyers.

    “In this recession period, most of us cannot afford the exorbitant fee.

    “They should consider us and reduce it to N1million. They should also provide public toilets,” she said.

    A meat seller, who preferred anonymity, said politics had been playing out since the demolition of the market.

    He alleged that traders, who could afford the high rent, were procuring forms secretly for about N10,000 from the market leader.

    “Politics is on at the market. The exorbitant lease is intentional, as it is to enable some people acquire the shops.

    “They want to send away some of us who have been at the market for over 20 years. This is wickedness.”

  • Trustfund engages artisans, traders, others on micro pension

    Trustfund Pensions Plc has urged workers in the informal sector through the Federation of Informal Workers Organisation of Nigeria (FIWON), to take advantage of micro pension plan to save for their future.

    Micro pension, a plan by the National Pension Commission (PenCom, designed to capture the over 70,000 workers in the informal sector, is billed to kick off in January 2019.

    Trustfund, a Pension Fund Administrator (PFA), engaged the workers comprising Nigeria Union of Tailors (NUT), National Association of Motor Mechanics, Nigerian Association of Hairdressers and Cosmetologists (NASHCO), bricklayers and plumbers among others during the One Day Sensitisation Programme, which held in Lagos.

    Trustfund Regional Manager,  Obiora Ozoekwem, who spoke at the event, said the impact of the informal sector is going to be huge on the economy. He however said the company was prepared to capture the informal sector in January.

    Obiora stated that the company is capable of enrolling the workers based on its structure, expertise, branch network and the volume of assets under its management.

    He said Trustfund ownership is diversified and reflects various interests, which include the representative bodies of Nigerian workers, including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), adding that the company is also owned by some employers and financial institutional investors from the private sector.

    He said:“The informal sector, which has over 70,000 of working people in the country, falls under labour union. We believe because the labour union is part of the owners of Trustfund, the people will be more comfortable to enroll with the company. They have a certain level of ownership.

    “This is where we draw our strength from knowing that our branch network, expertise and the volume of assets we are managing will go a long way. The issue of corporate governance and assets protection is top priority for us. We believe that you can’t be a judge in a case where you are also part of the story, and with NLC being part of us, we have an edge above any other organisation.

    “We also believe strongly in FIWON. It is an association of informal sectors’ organisations. FIWON is the central organising platform for working people in the informal sectors of the Nigerian. It has the tailor, farmer, bricklayer, taxi driver and many more workers.”

    Ozoekwem further stated that the company will embark on awareness creation on pension scheme, stressing that the informal sector also comprises of the self-employed, who are not necessarily low-income earners, adding that the company is prepared to engage these categories of people.

    He said there is going to be need for public enlightenment because they need to understand the Contributory Pension Scheme as a whole, as well as the micro pension plan. PenCom has also promised to embark on serious sensitisa-tion campaign on the scheme.”

    Meanwhile, FIWON Secretary General, Gbenga Komolafe, has  called on its members nationwide to stop playing lottery with their hard earned money and participate in the pension scheme to secure their future.

    He said FIWON which was launched in 2010 with about 24 organisation of former workers, currently has about 170 organisa-tions across 21 states, with the sole purpose of ensuring that the workers right is protected.

    “We also ensure that they benefit from mortgage care and support, maternal care and support and other basic amenities,” he said.

    While commending the government initiative to capture the sector, he called on the government to part fund the contributions required in the scheme.

    He called “the categories of workers in the informal sector contribute to the economy, but do not enjoy the benefits that the working people in the formal sector enjoy. “It is in the interest of everybody that government invests in the informal sector,” he said.

    “Government attitude and the need for it to create space for the people to carry out their trade activities is very important. The government is talking to us about pension today, but if they keep destroying our spaces where we engage in trade, where are we going to get money to be able to save for the future?

    “It is not enough for the government to say we should contribute to pension, it should also part fund the scheme for us. Even if it is not 50-50 as we have in the formal sector, but at least, it should encourage the informal sector. If government part funds it, the money will still be in the system while it encourages participation and helps to obviate the effects of inflation,” he added.