The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, has gone solo, instituting what looks like price control measures on food items being sold in the market within his kingdom.
In a swift move to address the daily rising cost of food items, the First Class Monarch banned all associations that have to do with uniform prices of food items in his kingdom.
Information reaching us at Greenbarge Reporters online newspaper said that the Ooni threatened to banish any trader, market men or women who sells food items and other essential commodities beyond the reach of the common people in his domain.
Oba Enitan Ogunwusi ordered that each trader should be free to fix the prices of the food items, even as he ordered that no trader should sell sizeable amount of pepper and tomatoes above N200.
The King, in a viral video by his chiefs, told the market women that nobody should coerced or fixed prices for others.
The Ooni also ordered that a portion of pepper should henceforth be sold at the rate of N100 and N200.
The monarch also warned those selling seven cups of foodstuffs as a congo to residents to stop, adding that anyone caught will be banished from the town.
The Chiefs told traders: “In the name of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi and the 16 Cheifs, the market heads (Babaloja and Iyaloja) of Ile-Ife should go and inform all market men and women in Ile-Ife that starting from today, (Friday, July 12), that Kabiyesi has cancelled anything called market association.
“Also anyone who threatened or coerced another to sell their foodstuff or goods at a particular price will be dealt with. Everyone should sell at his or her own price.
“Also the people selling pepper should not sell a portion for more than N200. The act of selling a portion of pepper for N500 should stop from today.
“For those selling foodstuffs, anybody who cheats customers by selling 7 cups as a congo of rice, once caught, will leave the city.
“Similarly, any outsider who come to trade in Ile-Ife should be welcome. Anybody who chases an outsider who come to trade, away will be sent out of Ile-Ife.”
Meanwhile, the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba (Dr) Gabriel Aromolaran had earlier banned trade union and transport associations in Ilesa.
The monarch said that the extortionate practices of union leaders and the negative contributions of the unions and associations to the increment in prices of commodities are responsible for the ban.
