Ambode reopens Mile 12 market

Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos state, has ordered the reopening of Mile 12 market, along Ikorodu road.

The market was closed on March 3 following a bloody communal clash between traders.

However, Steve Ayorinde, commissioner for  information, said the governor ordered reopening of the market on Thursday after meeting with “relevant stakeholders”.

“Governor Akinwunmi Ambode this morning has ordered the reopening of Mile 12 market…after stakeholders assured him of peace and order,” he said in a statement.

Ayorinde quoted the governor as saying that the market had outgrown its present location and would be relocated ultimately.

“Realizing the strong need to move the popular Mile 12 Market from its present location, community leaders and traders in the area have agreed with the plan of the state government to relocate the market to another suitable and more convenient location within the state,” the statement read.

“The leaders and traders also consented to the ban on use of commercial motorcycle popularly called Okada as a means of commercial transportation in the area.

“The community leaders said the decision became imperative owing to the fact that the Mile 12 Market, which had been in existence for decades, has outgrown its present location and available infrastructure, hence the need to reason with government.”

Shehu Usman, financial secretary of Mile 12 market, said the market leaders “agreed with government on four measures to be adopted going forward which included ban on Okada operations in the area, relocation of Mile 12 Market”.

The briefing was attended by community leaders, Mile 12 market leaders, and government officials led by Tunji Bello, secretary to the state government.

Bello said the government will finalise plans on the new location and time frame when the traders will be relocated, adding that government will compensate those with genuine claim of destroyed properties.

The communal clash broke out in the first week of March, leading to loss of lives and destruction of properties.