Some sellers in Lagos State have complained about poor sales as Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim calendar, approaches.
Lagos State has been on lockdown since March 29, following the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari, as a measure to curtail the spread of COVID-19 in the state.
Since the lockdown order, the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led administration has closed major markets in the state while creating emergency food markets closer to the people are various Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).
The essence of the markets is to help people adhere to the social distancing rule, one of the strong steps of curtailing the spread of coronavirus.
Read Also: Over 200 Female Journalists, Widows Get Relief Materials From NAWOJ
Ekohotblog visited the Lagos State emergency market at Fagba Junior Grammar School, Iju and Stadium Junior Grammar School, Low-Cost Housing Estate, Ifako to sample the opinion of sellers on Wednesday.
At Fagba Junior Grammar School, some sellers who spoke with our reporter decried the low level of patronage.
At Fagba Junior Grammar School, the turn out was low compared to the last time.
This, the sellers attributed to the effect of the lockdown on the purchasing power of the people.
Ekohotblog visited the stall of a raw rice seller, who complained about the drop in sales.
According to her, sales was not as that of the last time she visited the market.
“You can see the number of stocks I still have here. I came heavily prepared because the last time, I left here happy. Now, I have hardly sold a half bag of rice.”
A meat seller, directly beside her, also shared the same story.
“The reason why we are here today is because of Ramadan sales. But it seems people are not prepared for fasting. You can’t blame them. We all know the situation of the country,” he said.
For the noddles sellers in the market, things were not as bad as that of the rice and meat sellers, but it was still below expectations.
From Fagba, ekohotblog reporter went to Stadium Junior Grammar School, Low-Cost Housing Estate, where the tales are the same.
The turnout at Stadium Junior Grammar School was lower than that of Fagba Junior Grammar School.
Most of the sellers had one or two people patronising them at the same time.
Our reporter visited the vegetable stall where the seller, Mrs Kemi said that she regretted coming to the market as she was yet to make a sale as at 12:20pm.
“I blame myself for coming out. Ramadan is starting on Friday or Saturday and people are not buying anything. The economy is bad and coronavirus has made it worse. Only God will save us,” she said.
The garri seller, the pepper seller and soft drinks sellers all shared the same sorry tale.
For them, Ramadan will be a long month for people, no thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Advertise or Publish a Story on EkoHot Blog:
Kindly contact us at [email protected]. Breaking stories should be sent to the above email and substantiated with pictorial evidence.
Citizen journalists will receive a token as data incentive.
Call or Whatsapp: 0803 561 7233, 0703 414 5611