Traders across Ogun State on Thursday 16th November, 2017 were shut out of markets by government officials on the order of Governor Ibikunle Amosun.
Governor Ibikunle Amosun
The traders who were kept unaware were said to be owing government millions of naira which necessitated the action. Some of the markets affected were the popular Ita Osu Market in Ijebu Ode, Kuto, Lafenwa, June 12 and Omida Markets all in Abeokuta.
It was gathered that Traders from and around the Markets got to their stalls and saw fiercely looking law enforcement agents manning strategic areas in the markets place, thereby disallowing them from performing their daily trading activities.
At the Popular Kuto Market in Abeokuta, stern looking Policemen were seen at about 6.00 in the morning turning back traders who had come from various locations to display their wares. The action made some of them to display their wares on the roadside thereby preventing free flow of traffic.
Speaking to our correspondent, a chieftain of the market association who pleaded for anonymity said the halt in transaction at the market was a fall-out of a row between the market management and the Revenue Board over an alleged N10 million tax evasion by the market occupants and its management.
“The traders were left with no other option but to display their wares on the road side for transaction as security personnel were readily on ground to enforce the directive.”
Our Correspondent gathered that the Revenue Board had on several occasions prevailed on the management of the markets to honour its responsibilities to the government but regretted that the subtle persuasion yielded no positive result which on the long run led to enforcement.
It was also gathered that at the evening time of Thursday, the management of the market had been able to raise about six hundred thousand out of the five million naira later agreed by the Internal Revenue Service staff and the market management.
All efforts by our Correspondent to get reactions from the IRS management proved abortive as calls put forward to its Director of Information was not answered.
– Wale Adewunmi, Ogun State Correspondent