Ado Ekiti – Some women in Federal Housing, Ado-Ekiti, on Friday said that the lockdown order, occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic, is taking its toll on them.
They decried the sudden hike in prices of some food items and disruption of their petty trading.
Speaking to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ado Ekiti, Mrs Ilori Abodunde, a civil servant, said that a bag of Sachet water now goes for N170, as against N150 before the lockdown.
She said that before the directive, the same bag directly from the distributors cost N100, now goes for N150.
“The price of fuel has reduced, so we are not supposed to experience hike in the price of food items at this time,” Abodunde said.
Mrs Tina Adesegun, a housewife, said buying fish in the area had become very expensive too.
She said that the fish that normally sells for N120 now goes for N200, which had made it extremely difficult for her to cook a befitting soup for her family.
Mrs Nana Seidu, a petty trader, said the disruption in her groundnut trade was of major concern.
She said that the lockdown notice was short and that the government did not consider the poor like her who feeds “from hand to mouth”.
She said she survived on her daily income as a groundnut seller, saying that her daily income was barely enough to feed her and her kids.
Seidu said she would be happy if the state government could assist her and her kids to feed, while the lockdown period lasted.
The women said while they fully understood that the lockdown was very necessary at this time, the government should intervene in ensuring stability of prices of food items.
(NAN)
