Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday directed the Task Force on Environmental Sanitation and Other Special Offences to carry out full enforcement of the law restricting street trading in the metropolis.
The Governor, in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello, expressed concern about the resurgence of street trading in major areas of the state, noting that not only do they constitute environmental nuisance, but also pose security threat to citizens.
He said there is an existing law in the state prohibiting street trading, urging those interested in doing business to seek for space in the various modern markets redeveloped by the state government to enhance business activities.
“At the State Security Council Meeting on July 7, it was resolved that the act of street trading that has continued to hamper free flow of traffic on Lagos roads which further constitutes nuisance and security threat to law abiding citizens will no longer be tolerated”.
“Therefore, street traders and buyers will henceforth be arrested and prosecuted. The Task Force on Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences has been mandated to ensure the Law of the State against street trading is enforced to the letter”, the Governor said.
He said that all security agencies have resolved to beef up security in the State so as to ensure that it remains safe for citizens and investors alike.
He also urged residents in the state not to encourage the trend by patronizing them, saying in doing so, they indirectly aid and abet crime.
Governor Ambode also frowned at the prevalence of street begging, saying that some unscrupulous persons hide under the guise of seeking alms to rob unsuspecting members of the public. To this end, he said efforts will be made to rid the state of street beggars and destitutes.
“We’ve had security reports on the activities of persons who pose as beggars, especially in traffic, but their sole aim is to perpetrate evil. We are putting a search light on this trend and one way to do that is to ensure that we take preemptive measures to forestall this development”, the Governor said.
Ambode is an anti Igbo governor because he felt neighbors did not vote for him.he first swooped on Ladipo market and now he is after street hawkers because he knows they are Igbos,our people must record all his actions so far and first begin to withhold our taxes and start relocating our businesses out of Lagos.
So the Igbo in Lagos should continue to carry out their street hawking business any way possible in Lagos state without care or due regard for the health and safety of themselves and others in the state. Igbos are also prepare to disobey lawfully constituted authority and result to unlawfull refusal to pay taxes. Rather than work with the state government to find mutually beneficial solution to the problem of street hawking in the state, Igbo prefers to blackmail and issue threat against the Lagos State government to cow it to submit to their wayward mode of plying their street hawking trade anywhere in the State. The Igbo has the right to trade in the state but the Lagos state government has the right and legal authority to govern the state according to its laws. Lagos state government was created for a purpose. To serve its citizens and manage its resources and geographical space for the good of all in the state. Not to pander to the whims of one ethnic group to the disadvantage of others. If the Igbo street hawkers don’t like the laws of the Lagos state and the alternative trading market spaces provided for them, they should move out of the state. I don’t think anyone in the state will miss their unsightly street hawking business.