12th January, 2016
Kazeem Ugbodaga
The Perishable Goods Dealers and Sellers Association of Lagos State has moved to checkmate the influx of unwholesome goods into all markets in Lagos in a bid to sanitise the markets.
As part of effort to ensure this, the association has decided to activate its Produce Tracking, Sales and Distribution (PTSD) in Lagos State.
This was arrived at an emergence joint meeting of the Executive and the Board of Trustees meeting of the association recently.
The meeting, according to the President of the Association, Chief Amos Edun and the Chairman Board of Trustees of the Association, Chief Sheu Salami, in a statement issued on Tuesday, said the need to sanitise the markets became unavoidable due to current happenings and unfolding event in both the nation and Lagos State in particular.
The statement said that at the meeting, the association made a general review of the event in the country, the zeal of Lagos State Government to ensure a clean and secure environment together with the security challenges in the country vis-à-vis the business of perishable and farm produce trading in the country.
“As a result, the PTSD strategy of the association which demands that all perishable goods entering Lagos will be tracked, monitored and checked from its source down to the borders of Lagos State will be activated directly. The mechanism also makes it impossible for any perishable fruits marketer to bring in fruits into Lagos market outside scheduled period approved for such.
“This simply means that the association in collaboration with relevant government agencies will be directly involved in the distribution, sales and transportation of produce entering Lagos market, especially from far states and neighboring West African countries. We frown at the report that some people use perishable vehicles to transport Contraband and various other banned items and unwholesome fruits into the state.
“Such act will no more be condoned and anyone caught either conveying unwholesome fruits outside the approval of the association or seen to have concealed any other thing outside fruits will be apprehended and handed over to appropriate security agencies and dismissed from the association immediately,” the statement said.
The Association said it would henceforth ensure that no market in Lagos State becomes a dumping ground of unwholesome and unripe fruits any longer, a practice that had for years turned perishable traders as the most refuse producers in the state.
It stated that strategy had been put in place for reasonable flow of perishable goods into various markets in the state, saying that a market that had capacity to only sell two or three trucks in a week would no more be allowed to bring in four or five trucks in a day as usually the practice, which often resulted in unsold produce, heaps of refuse, blockage to traffic flow and debt which had made many fruits or perishable farmers to be bankrupt.
While calling on all those already selling unwholesome oranges from the North, in the Middlebelt of Gboko (Benue State) and Benin Republic in particular to stop henceforth, the association said an operation schedule for approved markets would soon be communicated to various law enforcement agencies in the state for proper monitoring and quality control.
“As a result, no one is allowed to bring in any oranges or pineapple, especially from Gboko or West African countries for now until the end of January 2016 when the association shall decide on when such could come into Lagos with a clear workable schedule that makes Nigeria safe, healthy and makes Lagos State cleaner and investor friendly for both sellers and visitors.
“All those planning to embark on business journey to either Gboko or any West African country are advised to drop such proposal as the association will no more condone all acts of indiscipline, lawlessness that had dragged the name of the association in the mud and portrayed it as uncooperating with government in its programme,” the statement said.