Local Government Seals Shops Of Traders In Ogun Over N5000 Permit
Some shop owners in Mowe town in Ogun state have accused officials of the Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area in Ogun State of sealing up their shops unjustly over nonpayment of shop permits.
According to reports, some of the affected shop owners were not served any notice before their shops were sealed up on Tuesday morning and some of the local government officials visited the shop owners on Monday to warn them to pay their permits within seven days.
The officials were said to have told the shop owners that failure to pay the permits within the seven-day ultimatum would force them to seal up the shops.
However, one of the shop owners, John Olajide, while speaking with our correspondent, accused the government officials of taking action before the seven days ultimatum lapsed.
Olajide said, “Around 4 pm on Monday, three people came to my shop and said that they are from the local government. They told us to pay N5000 for our shop permits.
“But I got to my shop around 7 am today (Tuesday) only to see that my shop had been sealed up with a new padlock. In fact, we even suspected that they were on an illegal duty as they did not even wait for the seven days to elapse.”
A hairdresser in one of the affected shops, Semiu Karimotu, told newsmen that despite paying the money required for the permit before the local government officials visited, her shop was sealed up.
“My husband was the one who went to their office to pay for my shop permit and I was surprised to see that my shop was also locked. My husband had to go to their office this morning to complain before they returned and unsealed my shop.”
During a conversation with one of the local government officials, Felix Qasim, he told newsmen that before they sealed up any store, a seven-day notice was issued to the owners, adding that those whose shops were locked ignored the warnings.
He said, “This necessitated our action and until they pay up, their shops would remain locked.”
When newsmen contacted the Chairman of the local government, Ogunsola Adesina, for his reaction to the incident, he said he was in a meeting.
Further efforts to get Adesina to react to the development proved abortive as he did not pick up his calls and had yet to respond to a message sent to his mobile number as of the time this report was filed.
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