Hawkers and food vendors at various polling units in Asokoro and Maitama on Saturday decried poor patronage from voters.
According to them, in spite of the delay in arrival of INEC officials and election materials in some polling units, patronage of the vendors was low.
Mrs Blessing Ekpe, a carbonated drink and sachet water seller blamed the situation on scarcity of cash.
“This cashless policy has affected the availability of cash, thereby causing us poor patronage.
“I always sell drinks and snacks during elections because people will be thirsty and are far from their homes.
“In previous elections, I made at least N15, 000 to N20,000 at the polling units selling drinks and snacks but this time the sales are poor as people complain of no cash.
“In spite of the hot weather, the sales have been very poor “,she said.
Similarly, Mrs Rose Danjuma, a petty trader at Primary Health care Centre Kobi, Asokoro, said the poor internet connection contributed to the poor sales.
“The network is poor and has made it difficult for customers to transfer money.
“I have been here since 7 a.m. and have only sold few items to customers that had little cash or were able to transfer successfully,” she said.
Also, Mrs Aminat Moshood, said due to the poor sales, she sold to only persons she knew would later transfer the money to her account.
“The situation has compelled me to sell via electronic transfer to only the people that I know and can easily locate in the event the transaction fails”, she said.
Mrs Sharon Ahmed, a food vendor in Maitama said that most people do not have the cash to buy soft drinks and snacks in spite of the hot weather.
“Some people want to buy cold drinks and transfer money but the bank apps are not functioning well. This has led to low patronage unlike previous elections.
“I am not happy because I paid the truck that brought my stuff and if I did not sell most of the drinks then I will need to pay to take them back”, Ahmed said.
Hauwa Sulemain, said the business was not going as expected because some of the people that want to buy things are complaining of naira scarcity.
“I also noticed that most people came with their water and snacks so they are not even showing interest in buying”, the vendor said.
An electorate, Mr Gbemiga Onadiran, urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to make the cash available to Nigerians to alleviate the plight.
“I arrived here since 8 a.m. and now the weather is getting hotter but I cannot buy water or anything because I don’t have cash.
“Besides, some of the petty traders do not have bank accounts.
“The policy is good but the implementation needs to be reviewed so that while we embrace the cashless policy we will have some cash to spend’’, he said.
