On Friday, a variety of hawkers in Abuja pleaded with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, not to take away their source of income.
The hawkers expressed their request to newsmen in Abuja.
According to Anaedoonline.ng, Wike has forbade street vendors from operating within the Abuja metropolis.
According to the FCT minister, street vendors who sell maize, clothes and other goods must leave their spots because they exacerbate crime and insecurity in the nation’s capital.
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Fruit vendor Mercy Job responded to the news by telling reporters that the government should help them and not restrict their sales because doing so would significantly benefit Abuja’s economy.
”The minister can create a platform that will help us financially to support our small businesses instead of sending us away from the roads with nowhere to relocate us to.
“Sitting by the roadside is not my will, it is because I do not have the financial capacity to rent a shop. It is even risky for me; but what can I do?
”Hawking is our source of livelihood and we will appreciate if the FCT administration will support providing an affordable place for us,” she said.
Fatima Alayo, another woman who hawks soft drinks and snacks, claimed that moving street hawking outside of the city core will only make their lives more difficult.
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She estimates that renting a shop in one of the city’s well-known markets will cost between N500,000 and N700,000.
”This amount is too much and not everyone can afford it, and not every business warrants spending much money to rent a shop.
”This is a petty trade. Some people just walk by and may just want to eat a snack or buy water while in transit. They buy what they see as they go by to refresh themselves.
“We are trying to help ourselves. I don’t have anywhere to go, it is this business that I am using to cater for my family,” Alayo said.
In light of the current economic difficulty in the nation, she asked the FCT administration to reconsider and come up with better policies that may provide relief for the general public.
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Malam Abubakar Isah, another hawker, claimed that he had other companies that could make him money if he were ever forced off the street.
He said, ”I trade in livestock and poultry aside from coming here to sell Kulikuli.”
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