Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State says his administration will no longer tolerate trading on the streets of Ibadan, the state capital, after providing a neighbourhood market as an alternative.

He said this on Thursday during his visit to the Scout Camp Neighbourhood Market in the Molete area of Ibadan.

Ajimobi, therefore, urged those hawking their goods by the roadside in the city to relocate to the market, which the government had provided, or face the wrath of the law.

The 4,000-capacity neighbourhood market with modern facilities was built and inaugurated in 2013 by the Ajimobi-administration as an alternative to street hawking and trading.

After the inauguration, the governor directed street traders to move to the market and gave out a N20-million revolving loan to the traders.

The market has since been deserted, as only a few traders have complied with the governor’s directive, in spite of free allocation of the stalls to the traders.

Addressing the traders, Ajimobi said that there would be re-allocation of stalls to traders, just as he assured the current traders in the market of their sustained ownership of the stalls.

“We are re-allocating the stalls to traders but we will ensure that those of you present here retain their stalls. I assure you that those recalcitrant traders will hear from us this month.

“We have provided you with a market that has every facility that could be found in a modern market anywhere in the world,’’ he said.

Ajimobi urged the traders to meet and decide on a specific levy that would be paid for the maintenance the market and its facilities.

Responding, Mr Kehinde Tewogbade, the Chairman of the market traders’ association in the market, thanked the governor for providing the market and giving it out to the traders free of charge.

He also commended the governor for giving out a N20 million loan to their members.

Tewogbade recalled that the government allocated the stalls and provided the loan within six months of the market’s completion.

“The governor built the market and allocated the stalls to us free; he also gave us N20 million as revolving loan.

“Markets were built by his predecessors but allocated to traders after the payment of some fees.

“I hope you can all see that he has surpassed his predecessors in efforts to provide welfare packages to traders,’’ he said.

Tewogbade urged the governor to keep to his pledge to drive recalcitrant traders from the roadside, pledging the unflinching loyalty of the members of his association to the state government.

 

Source: Pulse.ng

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