Edo’s Oredo LGA traders lock shops, protest high levy

Thousands of traders and artisans in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State yesterday protested over what they described as outrageous store levy imposed on them by the local government authority.

The traders under the aegis of Coalition of Traders and Artisans marched through the major streets of Benin, carrying placards of various inscriptions.

Speaking to journalists, the chairman of the group, Collins Ohizu, alleged that the council had increased the levy per store from N5,000 yearly to N50,000.

“Last week, the Government came with notice that henceforth our yearly levy per store has been increased to N30,000, N50,000 and N100,000 as against the initial N3,000, N4,000 and N5,000 respectively,” he said.

Ohizu appealed to the state governor to prevail on the local government to stop the collection of the new levy.

One protester Alex Eze, lamented that the levies imposed on them was affecting their businesses.

“The officials will now come to your shop and if you don’t pay, they will seal up your shop or send you to a mobile court, from mobile court to prison,” he said.

Addressing the protesters, the deputy governor, Philip Shauibu, assured them that a committee would be set up to review the levies.

He said that the local government increased their levies to enable them meet up with the payment of workers salaries adding that the increment was not done by the state government.