Some residents of Coker-Aguda Local Council Development Area, Lagos, have lauded Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State for reducing the prices of food items at “Ounje Eko” Lagos discounted food markets.
Some of the residents at Aguda Senior Grammer School, Coker-Aguda LCDA, discounted food market, said prices of seven out of nine items were reviewed downward following an outcry by residents of the state last week.
The items for which prices were reviewed included beans, rice, garri, tomatoes, onions and pepper, while the price of eggs and bread remained unchanged.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the price of 5kg rice stood at N5,100 as against N5,350 last week. Also, 5kg bag of beans cost N5,175 as against N6,225, while 5kg bag if garri went for N3,450 against N3,975.
Also, 1kg of tomato sold at N450 against N900; 1kg of ‘Tatashe,’ pepper, was refuced from 1,275 to N900, while 1kg of ‘Atarodo’ reduced from N1,875 to N1,725.
Similarly, the price of 1kg of onion reduced from N450 to N375. The price of a crate of eggs remained unchanged at N2,700, and various sizes of loaves of bread sold at between N750 and N1,500.
Mrs Funmi Okoli, a caregiver and resident of the area, thanked the government for the bold initiative which she described as outstanding.
“I am happy that the prices of beans, rice, tomatoes, pepper, onions, garri and others have been reduced by the government.
“This is a huge relief for me, at least I can buy whatever I want at discounted prices,” she said.
Okoli urged the officials in charge of the market to fine-tune the arrangement and ensure orderliness.
She said she arrived at the market around 12.00 noon but only succeeded in buying the items she needed at almost 3.00 p.m.
“People were not so orderly, they were jumping the queue, so people like myself that came early couldn’t buy in good time.
“In all, this is way better than what we saw last week Sunday, I can see that we have a listening government in Lagos,” she said.
Another resident, Mrs Aishat Olanrewaju, a POS operator, also thanked the state government for reviewing the prices of food items at the discounted food market.
She urged the government to extend the market till after Ramadan to assist Muslims buy food items at cheaper prices.
“With this new adjustment in the price, it will be easier for us to feed during this fasting period,” she said.
Mrs Catherine Rasheed, another resident of Aguda commended the government and appealed for extension of the programme beyond four weeks.
“Government is doing well and this programme should not be a one-off thing. We want government to extend it because of the present economy situation.
“Even the so-called middle class are feeling it.
“I thought I would get tomatoes, pepper and others, but I learnt they were no longer available but I bought bread and eggs.
“Government needs to work on the attitude of its officials attending to customers, some of them are too saucy,” she said.
NAN reports that the police, officials of Neighborhood Safety Corps and Lagos State Traffic Management Agency were on ground to maintain orderliness.
A Palmpay representative, Mr Nonso Agugua, told NAN that the turnout at the food discount market was impressive.
“We came in with two POS and we were in charge of payment for eggs only. We were not here last week, this is our first time and the turnout was awesome,” he said.
One of the vendors, Mr Saliu Rasheed, commended the government for improving services at the market.
Rasheed said there were remarkable changes compared to last week, adding that there was also increase in supply of goods.
“I supply eggs in six locations and it has been wonderful today according to reports from my staff.
“Today, we brought 460 crates of eggs and we have sold everything. The market is seamless, no hitches compared to last week.
“The startup time has improved and most of our complaints last week have been totally addressed.
“We brought 600 crates last week and we took over 400 back home because of hitches like inadequate payment points, the only POS machine was not working properly, late commencement and other problems but today there’s a lot of improvement.
“I’m happy partnering with government, there’s no perfect system anywhere. We hope it will improve more next week,” he said.
Mr Adebayo Adejare, a bread vendor at Ijesha, said he brought 500 loaves of bread and sold all, compared to last week when he brought 1,200 loaves and sold only 293 loaves.
“The officiating, timing and late arrival of vouchers affected our sales last week.
“We took the 900 loaves of bread back to the bakery. Our boss spoke with the official in charge and they paid for the remaining loaves because we already had an agreement that any unsold loaves would be bought by the government,” Adejare explained.
Mr Jide Ajenifunja, Market Leader, Aguda Senior Grammer School, Coker-Aguda LCDA, Aguda said the market was seamless as no hitches were recorded.
He said the state government had reduced the prices of food items following complaints by residents last week.
“We have more pay points today, and that has really helped and made the activities flow seamlessly.
“As such, we were able to satisfy most of our customers. As you can see, the pressure has gone down and most of the vendors have sold all their goods.
“Today, we started much earlier around 10.00 a.m., but people actually got here as early as 8.00 a.m.
“Government meant well for the citizens, and this market will still continue next week Sunday and we urge them to turn out em mass,” he said.
NAN also reports that the Lagos discounted food markets operate across 27 locations in Ikeja, six on Lagos Island, nine in Ikorodu, five in Epe, and 10 in Badagry divisions of the state.
The Lagos State government on March 17 began selling discounted essential food items across the state, an initiative aimed to alleviating the economic burden on residents amidst rising food prices.
Under the initiative, food items including rice, beans, gari, bread, eggs, tomatoes, and pepper are sold at 25 per cent discount at the food markets.
The market opens from 11.00 .a.m to 4.00 p.m. on Sundays in all local government areas (LGAs) and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state. (NAN)
By Olayinka Olawale
