Crisis brewing in Aswani Market over renovation efforts

Crisis is brewing at the Aswani Market, Isolo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), as the developer is not on same page with traders and shop owners on the market renovation.

As a result, those disagreeing with the position of the council and developer are appealing to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to please come to their aid and prevent the council and the developer from not just extorting them, but hindering their effort at earning their daily income.

While those who spoke with The Guardian agreed that the renovation is a good development, they are, however, against the manner the council chairman has handled it and the amount each shop owners is meant to pay. They are also afraid that the developer will not keep to agreed terms.

According to them, each shop owners is to pay between N500,000 and N600,000, adding that while those on the ground floor of each of the blocks are expected to pay N600,000, those on the first floor are to pay N500,000 for the renovation.

One of the shop owners, who pleaded anonymity, asked when did the council announce it is going to renovate the place? When did it even announce or call for bidding to pick the best person or company for the job in terms of cost and expertise.

He said without following due process required by government for contracts, a company was just named. There was not any form of consultation among the stakeholders in the market.

He added that all the meetings and processes leading to the commencement of the renovation work were done in secrecy with many of the shop owners not aware of.

However, the President of Aswani Daily Traders Association, Remigius Ngharamike, said that talks about the renovation of the market started about five years ago and that all stakeholders in the market were involved including his members who are tenants in the market as traders.

Ngharamike said the traders are fully in support of the renovation because it would enhance the beauty of the market. He believes that such renovation will make shopping better, which would likely increase sales.

“So, to us as traders, we are fully in support of the renovation,” he stated.

He said traders cannot be opposed to the renovation because they are not the owners of the shops.

According to him, from day one when the renovation idea was mooted, the concern of the traders was how they would not be displaced while the renovation was going on. This was negotiated with a promise from the developer that everybody would still be in the market during the renovation.

Ngharamike said he was in the committee set up by the shop owners on the orders of the council chairman to discuss what should be paid though he was just an observant.

He claimed he never wanted to be in the committee but that the stakeholders maintained he must be there and that it was at the shop owners’ committee on the renovation of the market that it was agreed that those on the top floor should pay N500,000 while those on the ground floor pay N600,000.

According to him, the shop owners agreed to pay the amount based on the level of works that would be done during the renovation.

He said that it was agreed that the innovation would involve roofing, ceiling, painting of the buildings and other repairs needed on each of the block of shops.

He added that the renovation also include linking all the blocks of shops with walkway, flooring of the marketing with interlocking stones to prevent erosion from further sweeping away the market sand as well as a drainage system for proper water channelisation.

He further disclosed it was shop owners that agreed on the payment modalities. According to him, it was stated that the payment should be in four installments.

Ngharamike maintained that the renovation is necessary wondering why some are against it. He said those who are not happy with the level of renovation already done should complain to the developer for appropriate amendments.

He also stated that there is no need to worry if the developer will keep to his promise, saying since there is an agreed term of reference for the level of work to be done during the renovation, if at the end the developer failed to do all that he promised, and then the people can complain.

One of the shop owners, Mr. Gbenga Oyedele, said that majority of the shop owners were not carried along in the renovation plans.

He added that it was when a letter notifying him and many others about what to pay was when they knew that there was a meeting.

He wondered why the council chairman selected a few to discuss the renovation when the generality of the people should have been involved.

Oyedele appealed to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to please intervene because the amount each shop owner is expected to pay is on the high side. According to him, about N19 million would be contributed in each block as renovation fee when it is not that the shops are just being newly built.

“Many of the shop owners are struggling with meeting daily needs, so, paying that amount of money just for renovation would be pretty difficult to me. We are not against the renovation of the shops, but the amount each of us is expected to pay is what we are against.

“Where does the government expect us to get that amount of money from? So, government should reduce the amount by about 50 per cent. It is too high in this harsh economy that many are struggling to make ends meet.”

Oyedele wondered why the developer started renovating some of the blocks without ensuring that the renovation is a product of consensus among all the shop-owners.

He complained that the two blocks of shops that had been renovated by the developer were poorly done; saying the quality of was too low for the amount the developer was expected to rake in from each block.

It was gathered that some shop owners have paid though it is a negligible few, which made the developer to start the renovation. It was also learnt that the developer has threatened to lock up shops that the owners failed to pay the renovation fee by the end of this month, which some have argued could snowball into a huge crisis.

When The Guardian visited the market, the developer was not on ground, as he was said to have closed for the day. Thereafter, efforts to get him to speak on phone were not successful. The three times he picked his calls among the several calls in the spate of three days, he terminated the call immediately. It was only the first time that he picked that he listened to the brief before cutting the call.