The Ogun State government has given traders at Kara Market in Isheri a 100-day deadline to shift to the Ogere International Market on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Sam Oyeleye, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, stated that the relocation is intended to restore sanity and hygiene due to environmental degradation in the market, which is located in its border towns with Lagos state.
According to him, the ultimatum will expire on December 31, allowing them to leave gradually, after which all stalls, shanties, and improvised buildings would be dismantled.
Oyeleye stated that the state government is flooded with reports of unhealthy waste disposal and open defecation on medians and road setbacks despite the availability of public restrooms.
He stated, “The state government will not fold its hands and watch a few individuals in the name of trading deface the environment and spread communicable diseases to millions of residents through open defecation, which they have failed to stop despite numerous sensitizations, appeals, and arrests.
“Their bad attitude, which constitutes an eyesore, is also not in tandem with the state government’s policy of attracting investors to the state as the nation’s industrial hub, so the need to relocate the market for the general good of the state.”
Oyeleye contended that the market has outlived its usefulness along that axis and has become overstretched, with no room for expansion or competent management.
He also guaranteed the cow dealers and other traders of proper security and a warm welcome from their host community, stating that their migration will be done in stages.
