Business
Mile One Market: Relocated Traders Bemoan Fate
The fate of traders of
mile one market, Port Harcourt who lost their goods last December and now squat temporarily near the Silverbird cinema, seem not to be certain as most of them complain of poor sales.
Our correspondent who spoke with a cross section of the traders recently reports that the temporary relocation, if anything was good as closing shop.
According to Linus Oguzo who sells doors and windown blinds, days pass into weeks and weeks into months and nothing seems to be happening.
He said most, if not all, of his customers have lost contact with him even as he said people do not find if easy to come to the new location to make their purchases.
For Juluis Nnaji who claimed to have been a victim of the fire incident twice at the market the relocation was not proper.
He said since government was not yet ready to rebuild the market, they should have been allowed to erect makeshift structures at he permanent site.
According to him, people were used to the mile I market location even as he said many people do not even know the existence of the temporary market.
Further investigations by our correspondent revealed that most of the temporary stalls were not even occupied as they were under lock.
One of the traders who spoke on the development and asked not to be named said it could not be unconnected with the lack of patronage from members of the public.
He said some of them were even expressing regret for spending substantial amounts of their savings in erecting the makeshift stalls.
Our correspondent who went round the area reports that a good number of rows have not even been occupied as their location was water logged.
The Tide further gathered that those affected at the water logged areas may be out of business for as long as this year rains last.
On the work going on recently at the permanent site of the market, some of the traders who spoke under anonymity said it was a good step being taken to fulfil the promise by the state government.
The Tide reports that a 9-man committee has already been inaugurated to oversea the disbursement of the fund among 4,000 traders. However efforts to speak with the Mile One Market Traders Association Chairman, Port Harcourt (MOMTA) Mr Kenneth Eze before going to press were unsuccessful.
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
