The Ewi-in-Council, led by the monarch Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe, has directed a reduction in the prices of foodstuffs, the dissolution of various trading associations, and banned the activities of middlemen in the various markets in the state capital.

The council made this decision on Monday in Ado Ekiti during a meeting with the leadership and some members of the market women’s association drawn from various markets in the state capital.

The council noted with dismay the reports obtained from members of the public, confirming that most traders hide behind middlemen to inflate the prices of goods, to the detriment of the residents of the state capital.

The Items that the Ewi-in-Council directed for immediate price reductions include tomatoes, pepper, vegetables, palm oil, locust beans, meat, garri, and beans, among others.

The council warned that any traders caught inflating these prices would be sanctioned.

Additionally, the Ewi-in-Council banned various associations responsible for charging exorbitant prices for their goods and ordered that vegetables should not be sold for more than N50, pepper for N100, a measure of garri for N700, while a kilogramme of meat should be reduced to N4,500.

Oba Adejugbe noted that this step was taken to make life more bearable for residents of Ado Ekiti while appealing to the leadership of traders in various markets to enforce the directive.

Oba Adejugbe said chiefs would continue to monitor markets to ensure strict implementation and to sanction defaulters.

“All along, we have had market women’s association leaders in the markets in all sectors. People selling clothes have associations. We never knew that in addition to the leaders we have there, there are still some people called middlemen. That is why the farmers bring foodstuffs from the farm, and the middlemen hijack the goods and increase the price.

“Sometimes, they don’t pay the farmers until they have sold the goods. We realise that this is one of the reasons why there are high prices of goods in the markets. We decided to ban all associations in the markets, and there will be no middlemen anymore. Bring your goods to the markets, and nobody can stop you again.

“We will sanction anyone who goes against this directive. The chiefs have been directed to monitor the markets. We have minimum prices for the foods that we eat, and nobody should inflate them,” he said. (The Guardian)

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