Traders who were allocated spaces at the popular Madalla market, a Niger community bordering Abuja, have warned of an impending crisis in the market.

The traders had reportedly constructed makeshift shops on the allocated spaces at the market located off the Abuja-Kaduna highway but had all the shops demolished by officials believed to be from the state government.

The spaces were said to have been allocated by the authorities of the Suleja Local Government Area, who had demolished the market sometime in May 2024 on the instruction of the state governor, Muhammad Umar Bago.

The market was said to be causing heavy gridlock along the highway every Thursday, which is the market day, but traders have continued to use the place despite the ban.

Crisis brews

Governor Muhammad Umar Bago, early this month, awarded a project to fence the market, which renewed the traders’ hope.

One of the traders, who gave his name as Mohammed, said, ‘’As the fencing project was ongoing, officials of the Suleja LGA met with the traders about two weeks ago, where a plan to reallocate spaces to the willing individuals was announced.

‘’Each trader has the responsibility to erect a shade around his space, after paying N50,000 to the council, for the allocation. Traders welcomed the development and embarked on the work earnestly, based on the agreed designs, only to be directed to halt the work, by another set of officials reportedly from the state governor.’’

Mohammed said the officials from the state government claimed they were not aware that the market had been re-allocated to the traders, and they ordered the demolition of any makeshift stall at the market.

Many traders, who spoke to Abuja Metro on the development, said the action had caused them huge losses, with many of them blaming the council for the problem.

One of the affected traders, Aminu Auwal, said ‘’It’s now clear that the council didn’t consult with the state governor before arriving with the plan of re-allocating the market to them.

“I spent about N300,000 in paying for the space allocation as well as erecting a shed.

“There are people I know that spent more than what I invested, as they got their allocations at a higher rate; beyond the official N50,000.”

Auwal added, ‘’One of the traders’ leaders, Abdullahi Bello, said the officials had directed them to pull down the makeshift stalls they erected, or stand to lose everything there if they failed to comply with the directive.

‘’We were told that the governor has a different plan about how the market would be designed, and that anyone that has already bought space within the market would be considered.’’

The chairman of Suleja LGA, Isyaku Bawa Na’ibi, was said to be away in Minna, the state capital, when our reporter visited his office yesterday.

He was also yet to respond to an enquiry sent to him on the market as at the time of filing this report.

However, one of the chairman’s aides, who craved anonymity, attributed the situation to a gap in communication between his boss and the state government and assured that anyone who paid money for a space would be refunded.