The Iyaloja General of Nigeria, Chief Folashade Tinubu Ojo, has explained the circumstances that led to the closure of the popular Oyingbo market in Lagos last Friday, AMILOADED reports.
Chief Tinubu, while speaking to newsmen at Alausa in Lagos on Wednesday, disclosed that Hon. Omolola Essien, the Chairman of the Lagos Mainland Local Government, who oversees the Oyingbo Market, ordered the immediate closure of the market over the very poor hygienic condition of the market.
She said, “The Chairman of the Lagos Mainland Local Government called me and said that she had ordered the immediate closure of the market. She said the market was too dirty and not appropriate as a sales for food items to be consumed by human beings.
“I also visited the market myself and ordered the traders to immediately commence a sanitation exercise and that the market will not be reopened until the market is properly cleaned.
“In order not to make the traders suffer much losses, I asked that traders selling perishable items to continue selling till the end of the day but that no trader at all will be allowed to sell from the next day”.
The Iyaloja added that Ministry of Environment officials have taken the pictures as evidence of how dirty the market was.
She further addressed the issue of allegations against her over the payment of N5million (Five Million Naira), as a levy on all Oyingbo Market traders saying, “BBC Yoruba reported that I ordered the closure of the market because they did not pay the N5 million levy. This is common blackmail that some of the traders resort to so that they can cover their misdemeanour. A section of them were even trying to intimidate us while we were at the market but we stood our ground,” Chief Tinubu stated.
She, therefore, enjoined all Lagos market traders to make sure that they sanitize their market and also make it clean.
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