Traders in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been urged to be law-abiding and to vote for candidates that will implement trader welfare programmes.
The FCT chapter president of the National Association of Nigeria Traders (NANTs), Prince Edozie Chika Ugwu, made this known on the sidelines of the 2019 Nigerian Traders Summit in Abuja.
“Our role as an umbrella body of Nigerian traders is to direct our members in all the 36 states and FCT to vote for candidates that shall agree to implement traders welfare programmes as contained in the documents,” he said and urged the Federal Government and INEC to give Nigeria election that shall be transparent, free and fair.
He told the members to shun acts that could mar the success of the elections.
Ugwu said the summit themed, ‘Job Creation: The Roles of Nigerian Traders’, was to discuss issues relating to the welfare of traders and to know how they could engage stakeholders, including the Federal Government, as traders play important roles in the economy.
“We urge the Federal Government to bring traders into their cabinet and they should bring someone who is a real trader, not doctor or lawyer to be in the affairs of traders. It does not work like that. A real trader should be in the Ministry of Trade and Investment,” he said.
The FCT Women Leader of the association, Mrs. Rachael Adewumi, appealed to government to give soft loans through NANTs to traders. She said there was need to involve the association so that the funds would be monitored to ensure that the money is used for the purpose intended.
