Markets in Lagos were closed on Saturday to enable traders to go to Permanent Voter Card (PVC) collection centres in the state to pick up their cards.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had fixed Sunday Feb. 8 as the deadline for collection of the cards by registered voters.
Correspondents of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who went round markets in Ikorodu, Oyingbo, Balogun, Idunmota and Enu-Owa report that major shops were locked.
The Iyaloja-General of Ikorodu Division, Mrs Taofikat Alison, told NAN that the closure of the markets followed a directive from the state government.
“We heard the directive on radio and encouraged our members to observe the state government’s directive.
“I am sure that the government knows that traders are the best voters because of the influence we possess.
“So even if some traders are not pleased by the closure, they must adhere to the directive as responsible citizens,’’ she said.
Mr Godwin Okoli, at Sabo Market in Ikorodu, however, said he was unhappy with the decision to close the markets.
“The state government should not have ordered an outright closure of our markets since some of us already have our cards.
“They should have allowed shops to open later in the day, or even allow those who have their cards to open shop.
“Many of us are still struggling to make profit and meet our financial obligations.
“So government should not have declared that markets be completely closed,’’ he said.
Another trader in the same market, Mrs Kafilat Oyeniyi, who sells kitchen utensils, said: “asking us to close our shops for even one week would not make any difference.
“The issue is not going to the polling units, but whether the cards are available at all. The crowd there is just too much at the polling units.
“It is more of less a waste of our time because the process is very frustrating.’’
At the Tyre market in Enu-Owa, Lagos Island, a trader, Mr Gregory Oboh, told NAN that the closure had made him to lose huge sums of money as he was expecting customers from outside Lagos.
A trader at the Balogun market, who did not want to mention her name, however, kept the door of her shop slightly open, saying she had to do so to make ends meet.
“I don’t have other means of livelihood and I have to feed my family,’’ she said.
NAN recalls that the state government had declared Friday, Feb. 6 as a work-free day for its workers to collect their PVCs.
