Scores of market women and men yesterday stormed the Lagos State House of Assembly to protest an alleged plan of the state government to demolish Ojodu retail Market.
The distraught traders chanted solidarity songs and appealed to the Speaker of the Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa to help them stop the state government from implementing the policy.
Treasurer of the Market Men and Women, Ojodu Retail Market Branch, Alhaja Fadeke Bello said the marketers were surprised, when some officials of the government gave them a day notice for the demolition.
Alhaja Bello said: “We are here on behalf of the people of Ojodu Retail market. We heard that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode ordered the demolition of parts of the market, which we did not agree to because the notice was short.
“They called us for an emergency meeting yesterday (Monday) that they were coming today to demolish the market and we told them that we will not accept that because of the short notice.
“This was why we decided to come and inform the Governor, Speaker of the Assembly and our Iyaloja General, Alhaja Folashade Tinubu-Ojo.
“We are going to her office to see her now. They told us they would only demolish part of the market, but we don’t know what they would do. They gave us a short notice.”
She said the market belongs to Ikeja Local Government and that it was established 32 years ago by the Marketing Board.
She stated that they were later told that there were issues with the owners of the land, while appealing to the government not to send them away from the market.
According to her, Ambode is trying his best for the beautification of Ojodu Local Government, adding that they also want to enjoy the gesture of the government.
“The Governor should not send us away from where we earn our daily bread. We depend on the market for survival. We don’t know their plans about the market, but we want them to help us,” she said.
Speaker Mudashiru Obasa promised to get across to the executive on the matter and report to the leaders of the protesters in due course.
Tag: Traders
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Traders protest planned demolition of market
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Traders decry Olorunsogo market demolition
Traders of the Olorunsogo Ultra modern market which was destroyed over the weekend have decried the action of the Lagos State government. They said despite several petitions and pleas to the state, their efforts were discarded without due notice of eviction.
According to them, the issue was already in court and had undergone two sittings before the demolition. Many of the shops owners were said to have bought at high rates from the developer contracted by the government. They agitated for due compensation especially for shop owners, insisting that government must make provision for an alternative site.
A trader who simply gave his name as Augustin said: “The matter is already in court and the last adjournment date now is February 9. The case we are making with the State and the Onigbongbo Local Council Development Area, is that they should relocate us and compensate the shop owners, not traders. Anybody can be a trader but the legitimate owners that bought the shop from the government must be compensated. That is what is obtainable in any civil society anywhere.”
Describing the incidence as a negative hit on his business, Augustin said: “by the gravity of what has happened to me, I am losing N10million worth of goods because I lost all. I bought my shops for N2.5million and I have two stores; an open block and another lock up shop. There is no formal eviction notice given to the market. It is only based on mere here say through our people. Government officials through their agencies cannot come to claim that they came here for once, summoned the marketers, or shop owners to leave for demolition. Even from the here say, they told them that they are going to relocate the traders somewhere at Tipper Garage Ojota, and still pay us compensation because that was the agreement between them and the developer. So we are all surprised that at about 12am, when people were sleeping, they called that the bulldozer was here, take your things, else we will bulldoze them. How can it be possible for someone to evacuate his wares under two minutes? It is uncalled for, disheartening and inhumane. My source of livelihood as I speak with you has been destroyed. In less than six days, my children will resume school, where will I get their school fees.There are no jobs and the place we are using to manage ourselves is still destroyed.”
Corroborating him, Ekene, a curtain seller and sewer who lost his goods said: “I was at home around 12pm when they called me but I couldn’t come until 4am this morning. I was not able to rescue anything. I sell and sow curtains. We were informed that they were going to break this place but we didn’t really understand it then. There are two parties in the market. A group were saying that it would happen, others said nothing would happen. My take is that if our government is good, when they arrived here with armoured vehicles, they should have waited and by this morning, people will come and get their goods before they start demolishing. It was the same thing that happened to the other side, so it’s not new. I feel so bad to begin the year this way but it won’t kill myself of steal.”
A live chicken seller, Olayinka Adebimpe said: “They told us since last year and we begged them to wait till January. So we expected them to notify us of the date they are coming but we didn’t know. They ought to tell us. The reason why we waited was because we were expecting the payment promised us because we bought the shops with full allocation. I bought mine for N450,000 from the contractors and I was given allocation directly from government. That was our expectation. We know we can’t fight the government. All my chickens are dead. We were pursued with tear gas.”
A sewer, Chienwa who fainted on the news of demolition said: “I can’t understand. When they asked us to park, I thought they were joking. The next thing was that someone called me that there was demolition ongoing. The only thing I saved from my shop is my machine. Up till now, I don’t get myself. We don’t know the reason why they demolished.”
She pleaded with government to always give room for people to pack their belongings before destroying.
The Babaloja, Lukman Adeyemo however debunked the claim that the traders were not informed, saying: “It is not true that we didn’t tell them. It was government itself that built the market and sold to us. We regularly pay levies to the local government here. What the government told us was that a bigger shopping mall will replaced this. So rather than having for instance, 200 people patronise here, about 10,000 would. They promised to return and even compensate everyone.”
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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.
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Edo moves to stop thugs from harassing traders, others
The Edo State Government has begun moves to stop thugs from harassing traders and commercial drivers to pay levy or tax.
It also released the phone numbers that traders and commercial drivers could call when harassed.
The government said it released the numbers to enable traders and commercials drivers report any violator to the ban on collection of revenue.
Last week, Governor Godwin Obaseki announced a ban on some levies and taxes to non-state or local government employees.
Obaseki revoked the contracts, which enabled individuals to collect taxes and levies on behalf of state or local governments.
Despite the announcement, some suspected thugs, who claimed to be youths of Ogbe community, invaded the Oba Market in Benin, the state capital, and destroyed traders’ wares, following their “refused” to pay.
At the New Benin Market, suspected thugs, who were said to be working for the Edo Professional Drivers on Wheels (EPDW), demanded payment for what they called ground and protection levies.
The hoodlums reportedly stopped officials of Oredo Local Government to collect revenue from commercial drivers.
They allegedly seized the council’s receipt booklets and beat up some workers in the presence of security operatives.
Two officials of Igueben Local Government, including its Treasurer, Godwin Uwadiale, were hospitalised last week after they were beaten up by suspected thugs at Ebelle Market for illegal revenue collection.
They were reportedly attacked on the directive of a contractor who was collecting revenue from the traders before Obaseki’s directive.
From his hospital bed, Uwadiale said he was at the market to collect revenue, following the governor’s directive, when the contractor, HRH Joseph Aikpaojie, the Onojie of Ebelle, ordered thugs to beat him up.
He said hoodlums used a battle axe to inflict injuries on him and his colleague.
The treasurer said the suspected thugs took them to the monarch’s palace until the police took them to the hospital.
But the Onojie denied leading suspected thugs to attack the officials.
The monarch said he went to the market after hearing of the fracas and saw the hoodlums beating up the council officials.
House of Assembly Speaker Justin Okonoboh was at Ebelle to visit the injured officials.
He promised to ensure an amicable settlement of the matter.
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Agodi Gate Market fire: Traders count losses
Agodi Gate Market traders are counting their losses after an early morning fire razed their shops on Sunday.
The fire, which started at 5:30am, destroyed tyres, machines, motor spare parts and refrigerator, among others.
A victim, Sikiru Kazeem, said: “I couldn’t save my goods. I could not salvage anything.
“I sell tyres in one of these shops but all is gone now. What I have lost here is over N7 million.”
Pointing to a spot, Sekinat Ojo said: “That was where I displayed my goods last week. They are all gone.
“I received a call at 5am on Sunday morning that my shop and my warehouse had been gutted by fire.
“I rushed down here to salvage some of the goods, but when I arrived, I could not save anything.
“These were the goods I bought with a loan I collected a few weeks ago. I cannot believe my eyes. What will I do? I wish I was able to save some of them.”
For 55-year-old Mrs. Kehinde Abass and Mr. Kola Alao, the incident was like a dream.
Mrs. Abass said: “Where are my goods and shop? That shop was my sole source of income. I don’t understand why fire would gut my shop at this time.”
Alao said: “The cause of the fire can be attributed to illegal dumping of refuse.
“I wish the governor would come and see how the market has been destroyed and how he can help us.” -
Ibadan traders reject council’s eviction order
Traders at the popular Alesinloye market in Ibadan South West Local Government of Oyo State have kicked against the council’s decision to evict shop owners to pave the way for Ajimobi Shopping complex.
The local government, in a letter titled: “Notice to quit”, dated November 18, and signed by Ayelagbe O.A. on behalf of the caretaker chairman, directed shop owners within Alesinloye market clinic to vacate in seven days.
Efforts made by market executives and traders to stop the eviction failed.
A market leader said a meeting with the caretaker Chairman, Rauf Folarin, did not resolve the matter.
An affected trader, Saka Salami, who was at the meeting, said the council was bent on demolishing the shops.
Salami said: “The chairman gave us seven days’ ultimatum. We told him that we were not illegal occupants. All appeals fell on deaf ears. Instead, the chairman said when completed, a shop shall be allocated to two people.
Another trader, who gave her name as Mama Ayo, said: “We were given permanent allocation by the council and we also pay tenement rate annually. It is wrong to revoke our permit. We were not given any long notice. Why would the council that legalised our stay turn round against us?”
The council’s Information Officer, Segun Adeyemo, said the Director of Estate and Valuation, Ibadan South West, Gabriel Oyeniyi, told him that “the notice was served on the traders adjacent to the fence of the zonal revenue office, which is sharing the same premises with the market clinic”.
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Business kits for traders, artisans
As part of his efforts to reduce effects of current economic hardship experienced by members of his constituency, the member representing Lagos Mainland Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Hon. Olajide Jimoh, has empowered some members of his constituency with business and entrepreneurial kits.
The items provided included tricycles, block-moulding machines; motorised sewing machines, grinding machines, power generating sets and hair dryers, among others.
While distributing the items at the fourth stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos, Jimoh said the gesture was informed by the need to empower people with sustainable means of earning income. He noted that the effort will further tame the harrowing rate of unemployment and youth inclination to criminal activities.
He said: “Need we stress the fact that the country is currently facing myriad of problems and Nigeria’s economy is in comatose. It is gratifying that the present government is working steadily to give the economy the needed impetus in order to restore Nigeria’s glory.
“It is obvious that empowering Nigerians is the way to go if we must develop. If we are serious about reducing the incidence of burglary, armed robbery and associated crimes, the youth must be constructively engaged.”
The lawmaker noted that the modalities used for selection of beneficiaries was carefully organised to align with thriving business angles.
“For instance, we have invested in these tricycles because of our belief that transport business is thriving in Nigeria; likewise fashion designing, so that beneficiaries will have good businesses to engage in. The food industry is, perhaps, the biggest. Thus, grinding machines will come in handy,” he said.
He, however, advised the beneficiaries to make use of the items provided in order to grow their businesses into huge establishments.
Hon. Jimoh, who also gave an account of his stewardship, reeled off robbery on federal roads, problems confronting the entertainment industry, unemployment crisis, international certification of vaccination as some of the motions he had raised before the House of Representatives.
Others, he said, included pushing for a bill for an act to provide for the establishment of the traditional medicine council of Nigeria, technological solutions to manual handling and checking of passengers’ luggage at airports by Immigration and the Nigerian Customs Service.
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Protesting traders shut down power company office in Anambra
Multitude of traders under the aegis of Amalgamated Market Traders Association of Anambra State (AMATAS), yesterday, shut down the office of the Electricity Distribution Company EEDC in Awka, Anambra State.
In similar vein, the Amudo community in Awka also picketed the EEDC to protest several months of darkness in their area.
The groups, carrying placards with different inscriptions, chanted war songs.
The people said their community has not enjoyed power supply in the last one year, while at the same time, the power company has continued to send monthly bills of between N1,500 to N2000 to them.
The leader of the protesting groups and chairperson of AMATAS, Mrs. Ezeigwe Chinwe Promise, said that all attempts to get the EEDC to attend to the problem had failed.
The protesters caused serious traffic grid, as they marched through the Nnamdi Azikwe Avenue in Awka on their way to EEDC office.
Some of the placards read: “EEDC, allow our transformers to work”; “EEDC permit us to install our transformers” and “We must get light to survive” among others
Efforts by some officials of the EEDC to prevent the protesters from gaining entry into the premises failed, as they forced the gate open and prevented the workers from going into their offices.
Ezeigwe said she had come with market women and Awka indigenes because there was need to do something about the transformers in the communities.
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Local govt. provides items, cash for traders
Bothered about the level of poverty among some residents of Surulere Local Government Area, Lagos State, the council instituted a monthly empowerment programme through which relief materials are distributed to some of the needy.
In line with the policy, the council recently empowered no fewer than 12 businessmen and women in its July edition of the programme to enable them to enhance their businesses and improve their economic well-being.
Items including foodstuff, packs of table water and other drinks, freezers, grinding machines, vulcanising machines, rice cookers, screw drivers and sockets, among others were distributed to the beneficiaries. In addition to the items, each beneficiary received a cash gift of N10, 000, strictly for the purpose of doing business and making profit.
The Sole Administrator of the local government, Sheriff Balogun said: “I inherited the monthly empowerment programme from my predecessor, Mrs Hussain Bamidele. The purpose was to identify those who are in need and avail them a sustainable source of income.
He said: “At the maiden edition of the programme in my administration, it is pertinent to note that 12 people who are in need of these items are benefiting today.”
He advised the beneficiaries to make good use of the items, as the local government would monitor them to ensure that the items are used for the purpose for which they were provided. Also speaking, former Deputy Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Shakirudeen Ajao advised the recipients not to engage in credit-selling to avoid accumulating losses.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Ganiyat Kuku, who received 10 crates of soft drinks, 10 cartons of water and a deep freezer, with N10, 000 cash, expressed her gratitude to the local government, saying she had been hoping to benefit from the scheme for a long time.
“I will add the drinks to the ones in my shop and make some gains. The profit made from the sale of these items would enable me to send my children to school and live comfortably. I am very happy and I pray the government continues to do more. I am sure I will still benefit in more of the great programmes organised by the local government. I have been hoping to partake of this for so long. I am so happy it is now my turn,” she said.
Another beneficiary, Mrs Taiwo Adedeji, who got similar gifts, was also full of gratitude to the council, saying she would complement her husband’s income.
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Gbagi market fire: Traders count losses
Wednesday, July 27 was a day occupants of CWH 66, Bola Ige Market were low-spirited. It was a day that fire engulfed the entire market. Traders, their families and dependants are still in shock as they had lost their means of livelihood. What is baffling is that the cause of the fire outbreak is yet to be identified.
The building housed six warehouses, each of which contained a minimum of 100 bales of clothing fabrics of various types. Though they lost millions of naira in cash and stock worth hundreds of millions of naira, it is gratifying that no life was lost. The incident was even more heartrending because Oyo State is a civil service one where traders depend on workers’ patronage, even though civil servants have not received their salaries since January.
The security personnel on duty alleged that “some minutes after 10:00 p.m. that night, he heard sounds emanating from the roof of the building from which an object dropped with a loud bang. Clouds of smoke billowed from one of the shops as a result of an explosion which resulted in fire outbreak that engulfed the entire building.” He said he proceeded to call the shop owners to intimate them of the occurrence.
Mr. Chinedu Michael, a shop owner who lost cash of N5 million and goods worth over N100 million said: “I was out of town that day when I received a call that my shop was on fire. I returned on Thursday evening. When I returned on Thursday evening, the security man told me that he was lying in front of the shop and saw no one. I, however, suspected that the fire was thrown in from the back of the building. It was a plan. “
However, Mr. Michael debunked the notion that the fire outbreak resulted from power surge, or a generator accident. He maintained that the incident was arson rooted in envy. He stated that they had not had power in the said area for over a year, and none of them used generators.
He said: “It could not have been caused by power surge or explosion from generating set as we have not had light in well over a year. Neither do we use generators in the building. And nobody cooks in the building. It was an intentional act borne out of envy. “
Another victim, Mr. Damian said they were often vilified for ‘using means’ to sell their wares, in addition to being accused of stopping people from making sales’.
“The incident was as a result of jealousy or envy because they claim that we use means to make sales. They claim that we are the only ones making sales. If my goods are not good, they will not buy.”
“The fire incident was not accidental; someone set the building on fire. But I hand it all over to God to pass judgment. The affected shops were owned by Igbo.”
Nothing could be saved as the Federal Fire Service was unable to respond immediately as they claimed that their truck was faulty.
Continuing, Michael said: “When the personnel got to the building, the fire had already consumed the entire building. I could not pick a single pin from my shop. I sell wholesale Ankara fabrics, i.e. in bales, and had goods worth close to N100 million.”
Unfortunately, Mr. Michael regretted not having insured the goods in his shop, adding that “I have a transaction with one of the banks, and insured some of my goods to the tune of N6 million.”
He, however, said the insurance company had agreed to pay him over N1 million.
Continuing he said. “I am an agent to Amtex Textiles in Lagos, and they supply goods to me on credit. I offloaded three containers of goods on Sunday. Each container is worth N38 million. With the stock already in the shop, it comes to over N100 million.”
A forensic investigation would have been carried out to ascertain the cause of the fire. Reconstruction work is ongoing at the site as the shop owners are rebuilding their shops, as they are unwilling to wait for the government.
One of the traders said:, “I cannot wait for government or the landlords because I did not get a good answer from them.”
Mr. Daniel alleged that the fire outbreak occurred after a misunderstanding between the traders and the management
“That afternoon, we had a misunderstanding with the management that asked us to take in all the wares we displayed outside our shops. Consequently, they took four bundles from Chinedu’s shop and three rolls from Mr. Kingsley’s shop. We took in our wares, even though there was an exchange of words.
“It was a few minutes to 11:00 p.m. when my pastor called me to know where I was. He told me to leave everything I was doing and go to the market; that my shop was on fire. I had to leave for the market. I was unable to get a bike at that time, so I ran a long distance before getting a bike.
“By the time I reached the market, all the shops had been burnt; my cash, wares; everything. I had withdrawn over N1 million, Chinedu withdrew about N5 million that day, another neighbour had a little over N500, 000 cash in our respective saves; all burnt. Also, my share certificates, business registration certificate, and other documents were burnt,” he said.
Giving an estimate of his loss, Mr. Daniel Damian said: “Chinedu’s stock was estimated at over N100 million, mine is a little over N80 million.” He, however, admitted that neither he nor his colleagues had insurance cover. “We don’t have Insurance cover,” he said.
Pleading for assistance, Daniel said: “We appeal to the government for help, as most of the goods are not even ours, but bought on credit. There is nothing I am doing now; I have only N500 on me.”
Speaking on behalf of the authorities of the market, the Iyaloja of the market; whose shop is a stone throw from the affected building, stated that the cause of the fire was “a mystery, and only God knows what happened.”
The Oyo State Commissioner for Trade and Investment; Princess Taibat Adeyemi -Agaba said: “I heard about the fire outbreak and sent my Personal Assistant (PA) to visit the place the next morning to see what happened.
“Early this week, I sent my Special Adviser (SA) there to get feedback so that we know how to come in in terms of help. I have also spoken to the Facilities Manager, with a view to seeing how we can intervene in the matter, even though the affected people have not made any formal request to the government. We are currently looking at how government can intervene although there are no specifics yet.”
Daniel appealed to the government and public-spirited individuals for help to enable them survive.
He said: “I don’t even know where to start from, because even government is finding it difficult to pay salaries. I am appealing to government and well-meaning Nigerians to help us. I am 47 years old, who will employ me now?”