Hundreds of second-hand clothes dealers, popularly known as “Gonjo” traders, at the Kogi State International Market in Lokoja are facing an uncertain future after the market’s consultant moved to relocate them from a section they say they have occupied for decades, threatening the livelihoods of families who depend solely on the trade.
The Association of Gonjo (Second-Hand Clothes) Dealers has petitioned Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, accusing the Market Consultant, Comrade Babangida Adamu, of attempting an unjust and illegal relocation shortly after the traders complied with a steep increase in their monthly levy.
In the petition, signed by the association’s secretary, Alhaji Musubahu Salisu, the traders said their shops were officially allocated to them under the administration of former Governor Ibrahim Idris, and that they had traded peacefully in the location ever since while meeting every financial obligation demanded of them.
According to the association, the monthly levy paid by traders rose steadily over the years — from ₦60,000 to ₦80,000, and eventually to ₦200,000 once Comrade Adamu took over as Market Consultant. Members say they paid the increased levy in good faith, only to be handed a relocation notice soon after.
“We have gathered information suggesting that parts of our current trading space have already been allocated to other persons, while there are fears that the remaining shops may also be sold,” the petition stated, adding that the development has created serious anxiety among traders whose only means of survival is the market.
The dispute reportedly escalated to the Lokoja Local Government Council, which convened a meeting between the two parties and directed that a written agreement be drawn up. The traders say they signed the document, which committed them to maintaining cleanliness and proper sanitation within the market. However, the Market Consultant allegedly rejected the agreement because it lacked a clause compelling the traders to accept relocation — a demand the association says it could not accept, insisting there was no lawful basis for moving them.
For many of the traders, the stakes go far beyond paperwork. A forced relocation, the association warned, would displace hundreds of traders overnight, wipe out businesses painstakingly built over many years, and plunge affected families into severe economic hardship in a market already strained by rising costs of living.
The association is now appealing directly to the governor to intervene, urging him to suspend the relocation pending a full investigation, probe allegations that trading spaces have been sold or reallocated without due process, and protect the rights of traders who have operated lawfully in the market for decades.
Copies of the petition have also been sent to the Executive Chairman of Lokoja Local Government Council, the Secretary to the Kogi State Government, the Commissioners for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and for Commerce and Industry, as well as the Kogi State House of Assembly’s Committee on Commerce and Industry.
