The Lagos State Government on Saturday explained to residents that prices of discounted foodstuff and other items at its special Sunday markets would differ slightly from one place to the other.
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotosho, said this in a statement to update residents on the return of the markets on Sunday, after their debut on March 17.
The discount markets for foodstuff (Ounje Eko) are part of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s measures rolled out to cushion the effect of petrol subsidy removal on residents.
Mixed reactions had trailed the prices and other logistics at the markets when residents visited them on their first Sunday of operation.
The pilot scheme began with sales of discounted food items, such as rice, beans, garri, bread, eggs, and perishables like tomato, pepper and onions.
Omotosho said that activities in each market were being coordinated by government officials, youth volunteers and private sector payment solution providers, to ensure seamless operations.
He reiterated that Gov. Sanwo-Olu rolled out the initiative, amongst others, to impact lives in various sectors of the economy.
The commissioner said that a new market location had also been introduced in Lekki Phase 1 to cater to the needs of residents within the area.
He said that the detailed locations of Ounje Èkó markets could be found on all Lagos State Government social media platforms.
Residents had on March 17 trooped out in large numbers to the centres of “Ounje Eko,” Lagos Discounted Food programme, to purchase food items at cheaper prices.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that residents arrived as early as 6.00 a.m. at Lagos Progressive Junior Secondary school, Surulere, to benefit from the discounted food programme.
The programme, which was meant to start at 11.00 a.m., started one hour late due to unavailability of vouchers.
Mrs Abimbola Kanwei, 70 year-old, urged the government to adopt a better approach going forward as residents queued under the sun for hours before they could buy the food items.
NAN correspondent, who visited one of the centres in Ikorodu, reports that there were queues of prospective buyers, who were unable to make payment due to the inadequate number of machines.
NAN also reports that activities at the market did not start until 1.00 p.m due to lateness of some officials responsible for collection of money.
Some residents registered their displeasure on the prices of commodities at the discount markets in Badagry.(NAN)