Hunger crisis: Popular south-western monarch takes bold action, slashes food prices, bans traders' association

• The Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe, dissolved various traders' associations in Ado Ekiti to reduce their control over market prices and ensure farmers can sell directly to traders
• Oba Adejugbe mandated market vendors to adhere to regulated food prices, with specific caps set on items like vegetables, pepper, garri, among others
• During a meeting with market leaders, the Ewi-in-Council warned of sanctions for those who violate these new pricing directives

Ado Ekiti, Ekiti state - The Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe, has dissolved various traders' associations in markets across Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital.

This decision is part of an effort to curb their excessive influence on pricing and to allow farmers direct access to traders.

Oba Rufus Adejugbe, Ekiti Monarch takes action to combat the hunger crisis in the state Photo credit: @ProfOsinbajo
Source: Twitter

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Oba Adejugbe: Traders must obey regulated prices

Oba Adejugbe also instructed market vendors to adhere to regulated prices for food items, emphasizing that these measures are essential to controlling the rising cost of food in the state capital.

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During a meeting with the leadership and members of the market women's association on Monday, August 12, the monarch, along with the Ewi-in-Council, issued a stern warning that any trader who violates these directives will face sanctions.

The council expressed concern over reports of unscrupulous practices by traders that have led to inflated food prices, stating that the new directives aim to address this issue, The Punch reported.

He said:

"There have been reports that traders, under the guise of their associations, collaborate with middlemen to artificially raise the prices of goods such as tomatoes, pepper, vegetables, palm oil, locust beans, meat, and garri by dictating prices to the farmers who bring them to the markets for sale."

Oba Adejugbe issues fresh directive on new food prices

As reported by Vanguard, the Council at the meeting issued a directive stating that, going forward:

"vegetables should be sold for no more than N50; pepper for N100; garri for N700; and a kilogram of meat should be reduced to N4,500."

Furthermore, Oba Adejugbe explained,

"We have implemented these measures to ease the burden on residents of the town. "I hereby instruct the market leaders to enforce these directives. Chiefs will continue to monitor the markets to ensure strict compliance, and defaulters will face sanctions."

Hardship: "Nigeria sitting on keg of gunpowder", Obj tells Tinubu

In another development, Legit.ng reported that tormer President Olusegun Obasanjo has described the situation of Nigeria as a country 'sitting on a keg of gunpowder', following the spate of hardship in the country.

This was as he said that Nigeria will not make meaningful progress unless both leaders and citizens adopt what he referred to as “moral rearmament.”

Source: Legit.ng