Auto parts sellers in Lagos protest Chinese companies’ trade — Premium Times Nigeria
In Lagos, Nigeria, auto parts sellers at the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex held a protest against the alleged retail sale of goods by Chinese companies. Participants in the action, who are members of the Auto Spare Parts and Machinery Dealers Association of Nigeria (ASPAMDA), said that Chinese suppliers were selling products directly to buyers and competing with local retail traders.
As Premium Times Nigeria reports, market operations resumed after the intervention of police and local government representatives. During the protest, there were calls for Chinese entrepreneurs to leave the market, but ASPAMDA representatives stressed that the main issue is the separation of wholesale and retail trade.
The market association’s position
ASPAMDA President Ngozi Emechebe said that the association was monitoring the situation and that the police should establish the circumstances and reasons for the protest. According to him, demanding that Chinese businesses leave the market is not an acceptable option. He also said that the association had already been working to separate the activities of Chinese wholesalers from those of Nigerian retail sellers.
ASPAMDA security chief Paulinus Ojukwu said that the participants had not informed the market administration about the protest in advance. Security guards intervened to prevent an escalation and, according to him, no property was damaged during the demonstration.
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Sellers’ complaints and an analyst’s assessment
Local traders claim that they spend money importing goods from China and wait several months for deliveries, while Chinese entrepreneurs can sell the same parts to end buyers at competitive prices. One seller, who identified himself as Chief Osigwe, said that traders were not demanding the expulsion of Chinese businesses from Nigeria, but wanted wholesalers not to operate in the same retail segment.
Chinese wholesale sellers contacted by the publication mostly declined to comment on the dispute. Blessing Nneka, an employee of one of the wholesale complexes, said that the protesters did not enter the premises and did not damage the shops.
Felicia Awulope, head of investment research at Meristem Securities, said she was not aware of any Nigerian law that would prohibit foreign companies from selling goods directly to end consumers. In her view, authorities should facilitate mediation between local traders and Chinese companies rather than limit themselves to arresting protest participants.
