Traders in Kogi state on Tuesday staged a massive protest in Lokoja over high cost of essential commodities.

The market men and women trooped to the street at the old market in Lokoja, the Kogi state capital, lamenting the soaring prices of food items which have affected patronage.

Investigation at the market showed that most traders have closed shops as buyers no longer patronise them due to the exorbitant cost of commodities.

A trader, simply identified as Mrs Ladi, who deals in rice and beans, said the sharp increase in the cost of the commodities had affected her business capital as sales was low, stating that she could hardly make profit after trading.

“A mudu of rice which was selling for N800 now cost N1700. This is because a bag of rice which cost N35000 has now increased to N62000.

“With this, we cannot make our own profit. This is the reason we are calling on the government to come to our aid by subsidising commodities grown in Nigeria. We are tired of low sales,” she said.

Another trader lamented that despite efforts by traders to part with some profits on goods, poor patronage had become discouraging.

“There is nothing to show for our effort in terms of expected gains or profit. We are only praying that our labour should not be in vain at the close of trading activities,” she said.

Mrs Laruba, who sells palm oil, lamented that she always made trips to Kogi East for some oil, but unfortunately, the business had gone moribund.

She added that by the time she calculated her expenses and subtracted the same from the cost of the items, buyers often felt cheated.

Mrs Adah, a vegetable trader, wants the Federal Government to intervene in astronomical increases in the cost of food items.

“Prices of pepper, rice, beans among others, have all gone up and the hike in price cut across every item. To worsen the situation, the government is not helping matters.

”We are pleading with the government to assist us with a view to ensuring the reduction in the price of food items. We are only managing to eat. The hike in price of commodities has almost eroded our profit.” (Credit: Kogi Reports)

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