Gbagi traders protest unfinished shops after alleged ₦2m payments
Traders at Gbagi Market in Ibadan have protested over replacement shops that remain unfinished, with several saying they paid ₦2 million each under the redevelopment arrangement.
They are asking Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde to intervene, saying the delay has disrupted their businesses and kept them away from their former trading spaces.
Their old shops were demolished in January as part of the redevelopment.
Some replacement structures remain incomplete.
The ₦2 million figure comes from trader accounts. IDNN has not independently reviewed receipts showing that every affected trader paid the same amount.
Traders describe changing payment terms
Several traders said the proposed payment changed during discussions over the replacement shops.
They described an initial figure of about ₦1.6 million, later demands they said rose to between ₦5 million and ₦7 million, and an eventual reported figure of ₦2 million after intervention.
Those figures remain trader testimony.
IDNN has not reviewed the agreements, payment schedules or allocation documents needed to establish the exact terms.
Delay disrupts businesses
Affected traders said the unfinished shops have prolonged disruption to their businesses.
Some said they borrowed money to make the reported payments.
Those borrowing and financial-loss claims have not been independently quantified.
The clearest consequence is that traders expected replacement trading space and say they are still waiting for usable shops.
Government identifies responsible ministry
Oyo State Commissioner for Information Dotun Oyelade said the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives was responsible for the project and indicated that further information would be provided.
No substantive ministry response addressing the payment claims, project timeline or reasons for the unfinished shops had been established at filing.
A direct response from the contractor or project developer also remains outstanding.
Project records could clarify dispute
Receipts, allocation documents and redevelopment agreements could establish what individual traders paid, what they were promised, who is responsible for construction and what completion timetable was agreed.
They could also show whether the reported ₦2 million figure applied uniformly.
Without those records, the dispute should not be described as proven fraud, theft, government abandonment or contractual breach.
Traders want a completion date
For affected traders, the immediate question is when the replacement shops will be completed and handed over.
The next accountability test is whether the responsible ministry and contractor disclose the project terms, explain the delay and provide a credible completion timetable.
For now, the evidence supports a narrower conclusion: traders say they paid substantial sums for replacement shops that remain unfinished, while key project and payment records have not yet been independently reviewed.
