Levies: Traders set for showdown with Lagos LCDA

Traders at the Katangowa second-hand clothes market in Abule-Egbe, near Lagos are poised for a showdown with authorities of the Agbado Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area (LCDA).

 
The traders are complaining that authorities of the development area are exploiting them and imposing unreasonable levies on traders. Spokeswoman for the traders, Ngozi Nworah, said that authorities of the council were increasing levies indiscriminately.

 
She said that increasing rent on a shop from N3, 000 in 2015 to N5, 500 in 2016 and now to N6, 000 was unacceptable to traders.

 
“Apart from the rent, they also collect between N100 to N150 from Monday to Friday from every trader in the market.
“A table space allotted to a trader is now being shared by two traders. The situation is brewing tension among traders,’’ Nworah said.
Also speaking on the development, the secretary of the Katangowa Traders Association, Abdulahi Waheed, said the traders would no longer take the exploitation.

 
He said that traders had resolved to take up the matter with the authorities of the council but that they were prevented by the heavy presence of law-enforcement agents.
He recalled that a protest was earlier held by the traders on February 7 to voice their anger on developments at the market.
According to him, the presence of policemen at the bus stop leading into the market has put fears in the traders.