Enforcement of Kaduna’s law on begging, hawking begins soon

Kaduna State Government has explained that enforcement of the law banning street hawking and begging has not started, even though the bill has been approved by the state House of Assembly.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Mr. Muyiwa Adekeye, said yesterday that enforcement of the bill will start about two months from now, pointing out that: “Even though the bill has been approved by the House, the state government will not enforce the law until after two months.”

According to Adekeye, who spoke with The Guardian in a telephone interview: “Even if the governor signs the bill into law, there will still be enlightenment sessions on it before the law will be enforced.”

Spokesman of the state House of Assembly, Nuhu Gore Shadalafiya, while speaking with journalists, said the state government has enacted a law which makes it a criminal offence for anyone to patronise street hawkers, making both the seller and buyer liable for prosecution.

He said Governor Nasir El-Rufai should be commended for the new Act passed last month.

He added that: “We have also passed a bill into law to checkmate hawkers who deprive people from owning shops. For instance, you pay for a shop to sell bread and hawkers will take the bread to the street blocking people from coming to buy from your shop. They are driving people away from you. And the state is not getting anything in form of tax from hawkers. That is why we have to come up with a law to protect genuine traders.

“So, you the buyer if you buy something you will be prosecuted under the new law. But before now, it was only the seller that will be arrested. I believe people will benefit because most of the beggars and hawkers you see on the streets are not indigenes of Kaduna, most of them come different states.”