Ooni of Ife bans market associations and orders market women to sell at their own prices
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi has read out riot acts to market men and women in the ancient city amid the skyrocketed hike in prices of foods and commodities.
Ooni Ogunwusi, through his chiefs on Friday, July 11, 2024, banned all market associations, saying that traders were free to sell at their own prices.
The chiefs in a now-viral while delivering the message of the monarch, told the market women that nobody should coerced or fixed prices for others.
The Ooni also ordered that a portion of pepper should henceforth, be sold at the rate of N100 to N200.
The monarch also warned those selling seven cups of foodstuffs as a congo to residents to stop, adding that anyone caught will be banished from the town.
The chiefs in the video said, In the name of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi and the 16 Cheifs, the market heads (Babaloja and Iyaloja) of Ile-Ife should go and inform all market men and women in Ile-Ife that starting from today, (Friday), that Kabiesi has cancelled anything called market association.
“Also anyone who threatened or coerced another to sell their foodstuff or goods at a particular price will be dealt with. Everyone should sell at their own price.
“Also, people selling pepper should not sell a portion for more than N200. The act of selling a portion of pepper for N500 should stop from today. For those selling foodstuffs, anybody who cheats customers by selling 7 cups as a congo of rice, once caught, will leave the city.
“Similarly, any outsider who came to trade in Ile-Ife should be welcome. Anybody who chases an outsider who came to trade away will be sent out of Ile-Ife.”
It was learnt that the unions and association curse their members who sell their commodities below the fixed price by the association.
A similar action was taken by the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba (Dr) Gabriel Aromolaran in May 2024, where he banned trade union and transport association in Ilesa.
The monarch said the extortionate practices of union leaders and the negative contributions of the unions and associations to the increment in prices of commodities are responsible for the ban.
Meanwhile, the monarch has received commendations from Nigerians as the urged President Tinubu to take similar actions.
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