Commodity prices soar at festival venues

Prices of commodities on sale at the Abuja National Stadium,venue of the 2004 National Sports Festival have risen sharply ,forcing athletes, officials and spectators alike to buy items like snacks,bottled drinks and sundry merchandising in the streets before entering the arena. Investigations by nigeriasports.com revealed that hawkers of soft drinks,water,snacks, souvenirs and sundry merchandising have had to increase the original retail prices of their wares by as much as 20 percent due to alleged harassment from the security operatives sent to maintain peace at the stadium. Sources disclosed that policemen on guard at the main gate to the venue have been collecting gratifications from the food and merchandise vendors before they could be allowed to bring in their wares since the festival got underway. "Just today[Tuesday], we discovered that every hawker you approaach had increased the price of his items by 10 percent ,some 20.And when you demand to know the reason for this sudden jack up they tell you it's not their own making ,it is the police,"said a privileged source. This of course has resulted in low level of patronage for these motley crowd of hawkers who most often return home with the bulk of their commodities unsold. A member of the festival's LOC who offered to speak with nigeriasports.com on condition of anonymity said the development has yet to be communicated to the organisers,averring that a swift action would be taken if it was confirmed to be true.
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