Anambra: Market Chairman To Hand Over Illegal Revenue Collectors To Police
By Julie Sylvia Onitsha
In line with the Anambra State Government directive that collection of revenue from hawkers, wheelbarrow pushers, and petty traders, among others, has stopped with immediate effect, the chairman of Ogbaru Relief (Main) market, Chief Ogbogu Nwanodi, weekend vowed to hand over anybody that disobeyed the directive to the police.
He made the vow while fielding questions from newsmen who stormed the market to investigate the extent of compliance with the government directive as speculation abound that some markets are yet to comply with the directive.
Nwanodi said, “interestingly we have abolished all forms of illegal levy collection in the market that include, wheel barrow, hawkers, petty traders and of course illegal construction of shops/stalls and sacked touts in the market.
“Just recently, the caretaker committee Chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area, Hon. Pascal Aniegbuna, went beyond his bounds by directing that we should be paying revenue to him and we reported the matter to the State government. The State Government has intervened as we forwarded a letter he brought through his lawyer, directing for the payment to him.
“We even placed warning notice in every entry gate, that whoever that is caught collecting any of these levies banned by the State government should be handed over to the police immediately, and we meant it, he warned
Recall that the market abolished wheel barrow earlier when some groups capitalized on it to extort and steal traders’ goods on wheel barrows.
“Now if you carry goods on wheel barrow, you must be accompanied with the owner of the goods before you are allowed to pass the gate as a wheel barrow pusher,” he further disclosed.
According to him, solar lights have been mounted in almost all the lines in the market as means of beefing up security and sumors procured for activation of the moribund borehole in the market.
“As I talk to you now the borehole now supplies water to the entire market and in case of any fire outbreak, we have water to quel it. Our solar system supplies power through out the night and public convenience built, and we santized the environment such that all have dustbins in their shops,” Nwanodi affirmed.
It would be recalled that the former Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Hon. Obinna Ngonadi, had during his visit to the market hinted that it was after appointing Nwanodi as the chairman of the market that he stopped receiving petitions from people against the leadership of the market.
The Commissioner was quoted as saying, “What I want in the market is unity and it is since Ogbogu Nwanodi became the market chairman that I stopped receiving petitions from traders of the market. He is a very humble fellow. Those who were here before him always cause crisis,”.
Pix shows Nwanodi
