Traders at the popular Kara market in Isheri, Ifo local government area of the state, have been given a 100-day ultimatum by the Ogun State government to relocate to the Ogere International Market along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
The ultimatum, which will see the market cease to exist in the present location on the 31st of December, is to allow for their phased movement, after which all stalls, shanties, and makeover structures will be reduced to ground zero.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Dr. Sam Olugbenga Oyeleye, while announcing the order to relocate, stated that the decision to relocate the market bothers on the environmental degradation going on in the market.
He noted that the state government is daily inundated with reports of unhealthy disposal of waste and other environmental nuisances from the market, as well as open defecation on the median and road setbacks despite provision of public toilets by the government.
He added that the state government would no longer tolerate the habit of a few individuals in the name of trading to deface the environment and spread communicable diseases to millions of residents through open defecation, which they have failed to stop despite several sensitization, appeals, and arrests.
“Their bad attitude, which constitutes an eyesore, is also not in tandem with the state government’s policy of attracting investors to the state as the nation’s industrial hub, so there is a need to relocate the market for the general good of the state.”
He also cited that the market outliving its usefulness in that axis as it has been overstretched with no space for expansion and proper management, hence the need to relocate it to Ogere International Market, where they will have more space and operate in a more controlled environment.
He also assured the cow sellers and other traders of adequate security and warm welcome from their host community, adding that their movement will be in phases, starting with the movement of their cattle, the closing of the abatior at Kara, and the final movement of other traders, as the 31st of December is sacrosant for the closure of the cattle market.
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