Hawkers say they regret voting El-Rufai

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May 12, 2016 3:10 PM

Hundreds of angry hawkers in Kaduna State on Thursday, May 12, 2016 chanted protest songs over the ban on street hawking by Governor Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai.

The group, who said they regret voting El-rufai as Kaduna State governor, added that the signing of the law banning hawking in the state was inappropriate.

The spokesman of the group Abdullahi Garba, while speaking to journalists at Murtala square Kaduna, the venue of their protest, said their group is facing intimidation, harassment and arrest by law enforcement agents particularly the police.

Abdullahi Garba, who said he sells mobile phones on the streets of Kaduna, claimed that police have once arrested him because he was hawking.

"The policemen descended on us and detained us. As I am speaking to you, about 20 hawkers were arrested by the police. Some have been remanded in prison without even bail," he said.

"We regret voting for El-Rufai as governor and we are calling on him to have the fear of God and cancel the law, because we don't have any means of livelihood beside hawking to assist our parents."

President/National Chairman Good Government monitoring Group (GGMG), Comrade Abu Amar Abdullahi Saleh, condemned the ban on hawking.

He said the ban will pose negative effects on majority of youth in the state.

"If El-Rufai refuses to rescind his decision on the law, it will lead to harvest of many more criminals in the state," Saleh said.

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