Democracy Day: Osinbajo visits Abuja market

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Friday visited the Garki Model Market in Abuja where he interacted with traders to know how they are faring and how the government could tailor policies to aid them.

The acting president’s visit was part of activities to commemorate the two years in office of the Buhari administration.

He arrived the market some few minutes after 3 p.m. to a rousing welcome by both traders and customers, and spent about forty minutes interacting with the marketers.

A few of them who spoke to Mr. Osinbajo complained of the high cost of rent paid for their shops, while others complained of rising cost of food items they buy and sell.

A trader who sells rice, Nasiru Kurfi, complained of inadequate storage space, saying that the management of the market had not been able to complete the shops they paid for long ago.

The acting president promised to take up both the matter of high rent and spaces with the management of the market.

He also called on the traders to combine carrying out business activities with farming.

“The more we farm, the more cost of products will come down,” he said.

The Minister of State, Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar, and other presidential aides accompanied Mr. Osinbajo on the visit.

Speaking to State House correspondents at the end of the visit, Mr. Osinbajo’s Spokesperson, Laolu Akande, said the surprise visit was part of activities to mark the second anniversary of the administration.

“He wanted to feel the pulse of Nigerians and to hear directly from the people and have one on one with them and assure them that the administration was committed to improving the economy and ensure life gets better for them,”Mr. Akande said.

The visit came a day before the commencement of the annual Muslim fast and Mr. Osinbajo urged the traders to keep prices low for their fellow citizens.