Kaduna State Government has issued a notice to traders in Kasuwar Barchi market to vacate their shops in three days.
Traders of the market, which gained popularity due to its large concentration on foreign used textile materials, met the notice posted on their shops’ doors Saturday morning.
The market according to its union leaders has over 15,000 traders, including those who own shops and others who do business within the market premises.
The market union leaders also confirmed that the three-day notice was signed by the Director-General of the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KASUPDA), Ismail Umar-Dikko.
However, the reason for the quit notice as stated by the government is to upgrade the market.
The notice read that: “In view of the Urban Renewal Projects by the Kaduna State Government (Upgrading of Kusuwar Barci market) you are hereby given three (3) days from the date of receipt of this notice to remove all your valuables and vacate the site.
“Failure to comply with the above directive will leave the authority with no option than to demolish/remove your stall at your expense in accordance to Section 60 of the Kaduna State Urban and Regional Planning Law of 2018.” It read.
Reacting to the quit notice, Secretary of the market union, Muhammad Kabiru, said the notice came within a short period and all occupants are under duress.
“We are in a terrible situation here. We elected this government from our blood and sweat, for our own good.
“They came with notice in the night on Friday that we the occupants of Kaduwar Barchi should vacate. We were not even told, only for us to see the notice on Saturday morning.
“We want the government to consider us and the hard times we are going through. There is nothing that lasts forever.
“We have been law-abiding citizens and we love our government. All we want from the government is to consider us. We want government as well to abide by the law.
“There has been a case regarding the demolition of this market pending in court. Yet the government issued us notice to leave within three days.
When asked whether the occupants were provided an alternative, he said, “we have nowhere to go to. This market is known and established. It’s a very popular market in Nigeria. Moreover, we have not done anything to warrant this unfortunate situation we are in.” The market union Secretary told The Nation.
