COVID 19: Lagos Officials Playing Games With Reopening Of Markets, Says, Marketers |The Source

By Uche Mbah

The COVID 19 lockdown, which is being gradually eased off by the government of Lagos state appear deliberately silent on the easing off on markets in the state. Markets are still operating at one day on, one day off basis, the source can report.

Field reports indicate that Markets were made to operate alternate days within the pandemic period and after. All the broadcasts by the state government, curiously left out the opening of markets to its pre-COVID state.

Most markets are overseen by the local government under which they operate, but it appears that the same thing operates in all parts of the state.

Churches and mosques are already open, normally, though the Government claims they are open 33% and should observe all COVID protocols. But nothing was said about markets.

Aswani Tuesday market, which is a special market for clothes, for example, was expected to be open since it operates once a week. But the authorities insisted they must change to Wednesday. They have been operating on Wednesdays instead of Tuesdays since the COVID era.

This has caused a serious disruption in the supply chain since people come from all over the country to Aswani to buy goods on Tuesdays.

A trader in the market, simply identified as Mama Emma, lamented that this has impacted the sales, beyond the fact the developers have ‘’simply destroyed the markets in the name of constructions. We sell under rain”, she said.

Asked about the return to Tuesday, she said officials told them they must “come to the office and see us. They demand ridiculous amounts as bribes to return  to normal. We cannot pay. There are no sales. So they refused to return us”, she said.

The story is the same in other places like the computer village. According to traders who talked to this magazine on condition of anonymity, people who bribed the officials are opening on a daily basis but others are still observing alternate days. “The officials are not hiding it. They openly tell you to see them if want to open daily’, Osas, a trader in the computer village Ikeja said.

The State Government is mum.