The Ekiti State Government has announced the allocation of six-month rent-free stalls and shops for itinerant and street traders at the Oja Oba main market, Agric-Olope and Awedele markets.
Ekiti State Commissioner for Trade, Industry, Investment and Cooperatives, Mrs. Omotayo Adeola, made this known during a bilingual audience participatory simulcast in both Ekiti and parts of Ondo states.
She said that the gesture, which is in commemoration of the second anniversary of Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s administration in office, was part of efforts to rid the state of street trading, boost commercial activities and fill the vacant spaces and shops at the markets.
Stressing that the purported high cost of renting shops would no longer be tenable for engaging in street trading, the commissioner explained that government is offering shop allocations on an annual rent collection basis with an initial six-month rent-free period as against the previous 15-year lease arrangement that may be beyond the reach of an average petty trader.
Adeola, however, added that traders would be responsible for utility bills, including electricity and sanitation services for proper cleaning and hygiene in the markets.
She urged interested businesspersons to register and apply for space free of charge at the facility management office on the first floor of the Oja Oba main market, adding that they would only be required to submit their name, nature of trade, passport photograph and National Identification Number, NIN.
She warned that traders who already have shops in any of the markets are not eligible for the scheme.
She also warned that shops already allocated but remained unused or unutilised would be forfeited to government and reallocated to those in need of space to trade.
According to her, more than one petty trader may collaborate to obtain a shop, depending on the size of their business and suitability.
She said that government would begin strict enforcement of the law prohibiting street trading in the state as soon as the allocation process is completed.
The commissioner stressed the commitment of the Ekiti State Government to curbing the menace of street trading, saying: “Government has spent a huge amount of money on the markets to boost economic activities in the state, and we don’t want the money spent on fixing these markets to go to waste. We also want to protect street traders from accidents. The law against street trading will be enforced.”
Lamenting the high cost of food items and the unfavourable trade pattern of disposing of farm products in the state, the commissioner further disclosed that the state government had concluded arrangements to mop up excess food items during the harvest period to ensure a continuous supply chain at affordable prices all year round.
That government would henceforth be involved in all agricultural chain activities, from the supply of farm inputs to the farmers to the movement of agricultural products from the farms to the consumers, in the interest of all stakeholders.
