The Lagos State Government on Saturday explained to residents that prices of discounted foodstuff and other items at its special Sunday markets would differ slightly from one place to the other.
The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, made this known in a statement issued on Saturday.
The statement was to update residents on the return of the markets on Sunday, after their debut on March 17.
The discount markets for foodstuff, christened Ounje Eko, are part of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s measures rolled out to cushion the effect of petrol subsidy removal on residents.
Mixed reactions had trailed the prices and other logistics at the markets when residents visited them on their first Sunday of operation.
The pilot scheme began with sale of discounted food items such as rice, beans, garri, bread, eggs and perishables like tomato, pepper and onions.
Omotoso said activities in each market were being coordinated by government officials, youth volunteers and private sector payment solution providers to ensure seamless operations.
He reiterated that Governor Sanwo-Olu rolled out the initiative, amongst others, to impact lives in various sectors of the economy.
The Commissioner said a new market location had also been introduced in Lekki Phase 1 to cater to the needs of residents within the area.
He said that the detailed locations of Ounje Èkó markets could be found on all Lagos State Government social media platforms.
Residents had on March 17 trooped out in large numbers to the centres to purchase food items at cheaper prices.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that residents arrived as early as 6am at Lagos Progressive Junior Secondary school, Surulere to benefit from the discounted food programme.
The programme, which was meant to start at 11am, started one hour late due to unavailability of vouchers.
Abimbola Kanwei, 70, urged the government to adopt a better approach going forward as residents queued under the sun for hours before they could buy the food items.
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A NAN Correspondent, who visited one of the centres in Ikorodu, reports that there were queues of prospective buyers, who were unable to make payment due to the inadequate number of machines.
NAN also reports that activities at the market did not start until 1pm due to the lateness of some officials responsible for collection of money.
Some residents registered their displeasure on the prices of commodities at the discount markets in Badagry.
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