Daughter of former Lagos State
Governor and the state’s market leader, Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, has said she
never demanded money and the All Progressives Congress membership card from
traders as a prerequisite to reopening the Abibatu Mogaji Model Market in
Lagos.
A statement by her media consultant,
Gboyega Akosile, on Thursday added that no money was demanded from the traders
before the market was reopened on Monday.
It was reported on Wednesday that
Tinubu-Ojo led a team of policemen to the market, popularly called Iponri
Market, 10 days earlier to lock it up.
Market sources were quoted alleging
that she demanded APC cards and money from traders before the market was
reopened.
Akosile, however, said the
allegations were false. The statement reads in part, “To set the record
straight, the Iyaloja-General (Tinubu-Ojo) did not
demand N5m from the traders and at no time was money paid to her personally before the market was reopened.
demand N5m from the traders and at no time was money paid to her personally before the market was reopened.
“On the issue of her demanding APC
membership registration card, the Iyaloja-General did not ask traders to present their APC membership cards as a prerequisite to the reopening of the market. In fact, only executive
members of the Iponri market held meetings with the Iyaloja-General and those few people could not have registered for the entire market
men and women.”
membership registration card, the Iyaloja-General did not ask traders to present their APC membership cards as a prerequisite to the reopening of the market. In fact, only executive
members of the Iponri market held meetings with the Iyaloja-General and those few people could not have registered for the entire market
men and women.”
Akosile explained that Tinubu-Ojo
locked up the market to correct some issues bordering on “poor sanitary
condition, defacing the original
structure of the market, converting shops to other uses, illegal toll collection by some unscrupulous elements in the market, non-payment of statutory and mandatory fees to the
local government and illegal occupant
syndrome.”
When newsmen re-visited the market
on Thursday to speak with more market sources and confirm earlier information.
A woman who sold cutlery stated that
money was demanded from the market. She said, “The market was fined. Each shop
was asked to pay N1,000.”
The source opined that the matter
was already generating more conflict
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