Oba Market: Edo orders Oredo LGA to stop collecting levies

The Edo Government has ordered the Oredo Local Government officials to stop collecting levies on tables attached to stores at Oba Market as long as such tables were not more than two meters long.

The Edo Deputy Governor, Mr. Philip Shaibu, gave the order on Thursday in Benin while assessing the Oba Market after some market women visited the Government House over an allegation of over taxation and extortion.

Shaibu gave assurance that the state government would not relent in its effort to ensure that only correct levies and taxes were collected to create a friendly business environment in the state.

He praised the women for being enlightened enough to fight for their rights and assured them that government would continue to bring up policies to protect the interests of the common man.

The spokesperson for the traders, Mrs. Grace Edobor, listed some of their challenges to include not getting the correct alert for levies above N50 collected from store owners on goods displayed outside their stores.

She requested that the central motor park in the market be converted to stores.

Edobor appealed to Gov. Godwin Obaseki to come to the aid of the traders to enable those of them who had not been able to go about their daily businesses to continue.