No fewer than 17 trade unions has formed a coalition at the popular Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos, has protested against the alleged imposition of unjust and inconsiderate levies on traders in the market by the Iyaloja General, Folashade Tinubu-Ojo.
The protest took another dimension on Monday which led to the shutdown of market.
Reports have it that Chief Tinubu-Ojo who was allegedly imposed as the Iyaloja and a Babaloja on the traders in June 2019 and the new market leaders have now disrupted the leadership arrangement in the market and started introducing strange new levies.
In the meantime, the spokesperson for the coalition of trade unions in Computer Village, Mr Nonso Bethel, said some hoodlums working for the new leaders, started charging outrageous sums.In his wrods he said “For instance, as a stall owner, if you take delivery of goods from the airport and you are bringing them into the market, the touts will collect N500 from the porter carrying them for you. If the goods are in your car, you will pay N2,000. But if you used a truck, they will collect N5,000,”
The spokesman said the traders endured the charges until the traders were asked to start paying N50 every day. and said when they rejected this, they were mandated to pay N1,000 every month.
“Outside of this, we pay income tax, corporate tax, VAT and local government permits. So, we don’t know the constitutional authority that the Iyaloja has to be collecting N12,000 every year from shop owners. Those who sell by the roadside, they charge them between N1,000 and N1,500 on a daily basis,” he said
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