Anambra market crisis deepens over relocation to permanent site
By Chinwe Nwacha, Onitsha
Plot to relocate traders at Iron Rod Atani road, Ogbaru local Government, Anambra State, to a permanent site at Nteje, Oyi Local Government Area, has resulted in the intra market crisis now rocking the traders there.
Mr Nnaemeka Onuzulike, former chairman of the market, has denied responsibility for the ejection of the traders to their permanent site at Nteje, adding that it was the state Government through Ocha Brigade that is responsible.
According to him "It is OCHA Brigade that is giving us the quit notice of leaving not me, I have moved to the new site already. Relocation started on April, we gave ourselves April until the government gave us August 31, before that August, we went there for prayers and people were coming in there with their goods.
"Government said that they would come on August 31 to enforce traders to move to the new site, this thing that is happening now is that the government has given one week for relocation since they couldn't do it on August.
"Since some traders decided not to pay for their shops and now the enforcement has started , they have reported to Special Adviser to Governor Chukwuma Soludo on Trade and Markets,SPAD, Evarist Uba, he told them that nothing can stop the relocation, but still they refused to pay the money thereby insisting not to go anywhere, saying that I am the one chasing them.
Mr. Onuzulike was reacting to a petition by a rival group, Concerned Members of Iron Rod Dealers, Atani road, to state government that he, (Onuzulike), was ejecting them to a permanent site at Nteje, when he has not rendered account of his stewardship as past chairman of the market.
The aggrieved faction, through its spokesperson, Okafor C. Uzochukwu, who is the incumbent financial secretary, accused the former chairman of denying them the plots they paid for instead demanded that they should pay extra #1,450, 000, outside initial #250,000 they earlier paid.
However, the incumbent Chairman of Iron Dealers Union Atani, Mr Evaristus Ejezie, was not left out as the aggrieved traders described him as rubber stamp to former chairman having supported him in the ejection.
Mr Ejezie denied being a rubber stamp, recalling that it is in his tenure that the market won the 2023 Anambra Traders Soccer trophy, initiated APGA in the market, installed solar lights in the market and other achievements, adding that a rubber stamp can not have achieved these.
"When I informed them about relocation, some complained of not having shops there, I promised to build shops and after series of meetings with my executive, I called them for a meeting and they started fighting in the meeting," he further disclosed.
Speaking, Paul Anyaegbu, former financial secretary, said that the issue of money was not yet the problem as it was agreed that account of stewardship should be rendered on completion of the market shops at Nteje.
"We agreed that after the building of the shops at the site, we render account and when we were paying, those money, it was being submitted to the central body, they are the one to tell us how much generated and how it was spent.
"The account I prepared was on the #250,000 we agreed to pay earlier, which were paid instrumentally, on taking the accounts which took me days to prepare, to the meeting to read the account, they said they did not want it again and tore the papers into pieces, causing problems here and there," he stated.
Recalled that in one of their meetings with Special Adviser on Markets, Chief Evaristus Uba, it was agreed that he should hand over any Government property with him to the new Caretaker Committee chairman, which he had complied with.
It was gathered that they are eight markets that deal in similar items that are ordered to relocate to the new site at Nteje by the State government or be ejected but the rival group reportedly preferred to remain at Atani road which is the main bone of contention.
The Chairman of Nteje International Market, which was made up of the eight markets, Chief Ignatius Ejike said that the cause of the trouble was personal interest of the oppositions
According to Ejike "They want to frustrate Onuzulike's efforts because they contested elections with him and failed .