By NAN
A cross section of sellers of clothes in Enugu metropolis have decried the low sales barely two weeks to the yuletide.
A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who monitored some markets on Friday at the coal city, reports that sellers complained of low patronage of their goods.
Mr Victor Ugwu, who sells men and ladies clothes at the Ogbete Market, attributed the poor sales to the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
According to him, the ongoing strike “has also affected us because students and teachers, who should be around to patronise us, are all at home and have not been paid.
“Enugu is a civil servants city with many tertiary institutions and majority of our customers are students.
“So, the ASUU strike has really affected us because the lecturers are not paid,’’ he said
Ugwu also said the exchange rate and custom duties were also part of the challenge as some people might not afford the high in prices.
Mrs Uju Ike, who sells children wears, said that price of the wears were stable, but there was no money to buy.
She also complained of high cost of transporting their wares to markets.
Ike said that they had to sell at reduced prices in order to recoup their investments instead of not selling at all.
“It is not easy for us as transportation and other expenses have increased. We do not have any alternative, but to sell just to be in business,” she said.
Some of the buyers also complained of high cost of other commodities aside from clothes.
Mrs Ifeoma Enuka, a business woman, said she was not ready to buy clothes for her children this Christmas season because of lack of money.
“My own business is not moving the way it should, so I may not buy new clothes for my children unless a miracle happens.
Mr Ikechukwu Chima, a civil servant, also said that he would not buy clothes for his children as he would use his money to pay for school fees as soon as ASUU suspended its strike.
“I have two children in the university and two in the secondary school. I have to pay their school fees and later when the economy improves I will take care of their other needs,’’ he said.
