Typical market in Lokoja.
Photo credit: Business Day.ng
By Dada Ahmed in Lokoja.
Residents of Lokoja, Kogi state capital, have called on the state government to create more markets in major towns within the jurisdiction of the state to checkmate continued, astronomical hike in prices of food items and other essential services.
The residents,who made the call on Friday in separate interview with our Correspondent at the International market, Lokoja identified inadequate markets, especially in Lokoja, as one of the major causes of the continued increase in the prices of foodstuffs and services.
Mrs Abigail Adebisi,who said she came to the International market to purchase food stuffs, preparatory to yuletide, described the prices of food items in the market as “highly prohibitive for the common man to bear”.
“Everything consumable, and even non consumable item one points at to buy becomes like gold carrying unimaginable hike in price tag.
“Right from the smallest item,such as pepper and salt, the prices are killing. We are under the yoke of unique hike of cost of living in Lokoja. Each time one goes to Lokoja market, you must hold your heart very well to avoid developing blood pressure, due to prices of goods and services confronting one.”
Another buyer at the market, Hajia Sadatu Abdullahi, whose view rhymes with Adebisi, also stressed the ugent need for the state government to break the monopoly being enjoyed by International market by establishing more markets in Lokoja and its environs.
She said”: The population of people in Lokoja has surpassed the capacity of the only big market in Lokoja, being the international market.
“Lokoja is centrally located and shares boundary with at least eight states of the federation.
“This sort of putting much pressure on the International market, Lokoja as many people from other states troop to the market to buy food items,thus making demand for food items higher than supply.
“By now, we expect the state government to establish big market in Sango daji, Ganaja village, lokongoma and Felele areas to decongest the population of buyers at the international market, Lokoja.
“The high inflation in the country not withstanding, experience has shown that shylock sellers at the international market usually capitalise on high population which the market cannot cope with in terms of supply of food items to hike prices of commodities.
“When more markets are established in Lokoja and elsewhere in the state, buyers will have opportunity to visit more markets to buy commodities at comparative cheaper prices to ease life for buyers.
“Such market should be made a daily transaction, instead of days interval we are witnessing at the International market, Lokoja.
” Because the sellers know that the international market is of days interval and that buyers don’t have other major market or much option when buying bulky food items, they usually indulge in arbitrary hike of prices of tmitems,very much, to the disadvantage of buyers.
Our Correspondent reports that Slsuburb markets in Lokoja include those located at 200 unit, Ganaja village, Sango daji and Adankolo among others.
Meanwhile, market check conducted by our Correspondent at the last International market day before Christmas celebration revealed heightened status quo in high prices of items with some consumable items, such as yams,garri,soup ingredients among others, displaying hiked price tags.
International market, Lokoja, established more than ten years ago is a
standard market where buyers and sellers from far away and nearby state like Niger, Edo, Enugu, Ondo, Ekiti, Kano, Gombe among others transact business in
fod items.
The original intention of the state government which established the facility was to make food items purchased at the market relatively cheap, compare to other markets but observers note that shylock market men and women have changed the idea to their favour.
