Ambode’s ban on street trading insensitive-CACOL

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Debo Adeniran, CACOL President

Debo Adeniran, CACOL President

Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, on Monday condemned the ban on street trading by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, describing the action as insensitive, as there was no alternative provided.

CACOL said the ban will increase the sufferings of the poor and toiling people trying to survive under the extremely harsh economic conditions.

Debo Adeniran, Executive Chairman, CACOL, in a statement, said under this harsh economic condition, majority of Lagosians and Nigerians had to resort to self-help almost on every facet of life following the failure of government to fulfill its constitutional role of providing for the welfare and social security of the citizens.

“The ill-thought ban, if violated will attract six months imprisonment or N90,000 fine. We question the logic behind the ban when those that are going to be affected are largely the impoverished consequent upon the failure of government in facilitating gainful employment opportunities on one hand and failure in service delivery by the government, on the other.

“The existing retail markets are too expensive for the average trader while they are too remote, rough or lacking in basic facilities that could make them attractive to those who would have patronized them. One would expect a government that promised what was presumed to be positive ‘change’ during electioneering campaigns to alleviate the sufferings of the people and to understand that the conditions of living of these categories of persons who engage in street trading cannot but get worsened should their source of earning the pittance they live on be blocked following the ban on street trading,” he said.

Adeniran described street trading as a global phenomenon even in the other mega cities of the world which Lagos wanted to emulate, adding that what such societies did was to organize the poor income earners like street …Read More

Source:: PM Newspaper