The Kwara State Government has directed traders selling goods and wares on road setbacks and walkways across Ilorin metropolis to vacate such locations with a view to protecting the city's aesthetics .

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Alhaji Jibril Haruna, gave the directive on Monday while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin, capital of Kwara.

Haruna said that traders selling at such spots posed serious threats to themselves and their customers.

He said that there were enough shops at the refurbished Kulende Shopping Complex for interested traders to rent at cheaper rates. "The roads, setbacks and walkways are constructed for motorists and pedestrians to use and not for roadside traders.

"If these roads are congested and an accident occurs, the same people will end up blaming government for not providing sanity on the roads," he said.

Haruna said that government would continue to appeal to the affected traders and monitor their reactions on the directive before sanctioning them.

"The issue of enforcement in this democratic era still lies on people's cooperation since we all voted for change and that change starts from our own attitudes," he said.

He, therefore, appealed to the citizens of the state to cooperate with the government as it continues to implement its programmes and policies.

The permanent secretary said that they were aimed at satisfying the citizens' needs. However, some of the traders complained to NAN that the Kulende Shopping Mall was far from their regular customers.

They also said that the cost of renting the shops within the mall was too much for them to bear, adding that there was no way they could afford it considering the kinds of goods they sell.

One of them, Tajudeen Akanbi, who sells shoes and clothes around Post Office, said they might lose most of their customers because where the state government had directed them to relocate is not popular. It is not as strategically located for to us and our customers compared to the present spot, Akanbi said.

Another trader at Challenge Area, Mr Tochukwu Ekenne, said the cost of renting the shops which he alleged the state government was charging them was on the high side.

Ekenne pleaded for a reduction in the rent fee. Mrs Ramata Ayedun who sells along Taiwo Road said the Kulende shops were not conducive for their businesses to thrive. (NAN)