Ondo Govt Warns Illegal Structures Owners To Vacate Market Area 

By Niyi Olutunde, Akure

In its efforts to ensure modern and unhindered trading activities, Ondo state government has warned and asked owners of illegal structures within market vicinity in the state to vacate with immediate effect.

The state Commissioner for Commerce, Industries and Cooperative Societies, Chief Timehin Adelegbe gave the warning when inspecting Igbokoda International market in Ilaje Local Government Area of the state on Wednesday

Adelegbe noted that the state government would soon clamp down on illegal structures impeding sanity of economic transactions.

His words, “What prompted our visit was the complaint receive from market women, the traditional rulers that the market is not properly managed, dirty and people are not properly occupying the stalls.

“And we have discovered that shops not built by the state government are causing gridlock and other problems and we have agreed that they must be demolished after proper approval from the state governor.

“The market is our pride and I tell you that we will destroy all attachment causing gridlock and all debris be evacuated

“Anyone’s shop demolished will not receive any palliatives because there are many stalls in the market meant to be occupied with anyone who has paid his dues”.

He posited that collection of rate would only be done by officials of the ministry and that marketers would be encouraged to move in.

According to him, the tripartite agreement reached by the ministry, the local government and the traditional ruler will definitely prompt the market to achieve its targeted goals.

“I urged traders to hearken to this agreement reached because it was for their benefits and the state entirely considering to be a big market that could make a lot of investment for the state government which should be run as expected.

Also speaking, Mr Fayowole  Aworetan, the Caretaker Chairman of the local government, said that the market was surrounded with a lot of issues,saying the commissioner’s visit had been able to resolve the issues.

Aworetan noted that the local government was ready to partner with the state government and the market women, hoping that the market would soon be in another level of  good glory known for it before.

In his words, Oba Afolabi Oladimeji, the traditional ruler of Igbokoda, decried the unwholesome activities taking  place in the market but promised that the community would join hand with the government to bring back sanity.

Oba Oladimeji said that he wanted functional market and called for proper allocation of the stalls in the market.

He commended the state government through the ministry for its intervention, saying that the beauty of it was the visit would give the government proper information for good ideas to be implemented.

It will help government to come up with good policy making mechanisms because of cross fertilization of ideas.

“It also shows that it is government that is not arrogant; that realises that the people voted it there and we really appreciate the government,” he said.