Traders at the various markets in Calabar have complained of low patronage of their businesses in the recent months, saying that the situation has made life difficult for them.
A cross section of the traders decried the situation in separate interviews with our correspondent  in Calabar, recently.
Mr Innocent Muoka, a shoe seller at Watt Market, said that he had been experiencing low patronage in his business for some time now.
Muoka said that the drastic reduction in the volume of sales had affected his turnover.
“Now we sell our wares without gain; we sell our wares just to have money to feed and this is very bad.
“I do not know what is happening, but I only appeal to government to release money into the economy so that business can boom again,’’ he said.
Mrs Iyabo Omisore, who sells kitchen utensils, said that business this time was at a very low level.
Omisore also said the situation was made worse by the current petrol scarcity in the state which had increased the cost of transportation in the state and the country.
“There is nothing going on at all; now is a very dull moment. Transport fares within the state and other parts of the country have increased.
“Sometimes we come to the market only to sleep in the shop. The situation is really difficult for us,” she said.
A dealer in textiles at Marian Market, Mr Michael Daniel, also decried the poor sales experienced by traders in the Cross River capital.
According to Daniel, the situation may have resulted from the delay in the passage and implementation of the 2016 budget.
“People say it is because of the delay in passing the budget. I am worried because the situation is affecting me and my family.
“I even hawk around this time just to see if I can sell something and get money in order to feed my family; and after the hustling, I come back with little or nothing.
“It is really a though situation,’’ Daniel said.