More traders back Commissioner for ensuring sanity in Anambra Markets
By Uzo Ugwunze
Anambra traders have drummed support for Governor Chukwuma Soludo and his Commerce and Industry Commissioner, Mr Obinna Ngonadi for allegedly sacking touts from markets, roads, parks and refusing to abide by the business as usual in Anambra State.
An Onitsha based Industrialist, Chief Mike Emerah, and traders at New Auto Spareparts market, Nkpor, Idemili North made the disclosure as they advised the duo not to be deterred , while reacting to the allegation that Commissioner Ngonadi, sells market leadership posts to the highest bidders.
Exonerating the Commissioner from sharp practices, and commending Soludo for sacking touts, Emerah stated that the Commissioner is not the type that can easily be enticed with money or any other gift to tarnish his image to the detriment of the people of the State.
“This administration sacked touts on the road, parks and markets and everybody is happy. As far as I know this Commissioner, he is not one of those you can easily entice with money or any gift item.
“So when you try to do the right thing this type of attack is what you will get in return for refusing to abide by the business as usual tradition.
“They should be strong because more of such bullets are coming as they will continue because it is from there that these attackers eke their living.
“Most of them are defeated candidates in both New Auto Spareparts and other markets, and the offence of the Commissioner is that he stopped the continuation of construction of illegal structures, overstay in office, flawed election, wrong shops enumeration, among others, as he insisted that due process must be followed,” Emerah stated.
Chief Emerah who is also the chairman, Board of Trustees, BOT of the market, said that no amount of blackmail would deter the duo of Governor Soludo and Commissioner Ngonadi, from taking traders and the people of the State to the next level.
In his reaction, the President of New Auto Spareparts market, Chief Elysius Ozorkwere, described the allegation against the Commissioner as frivolous and a figment of the imagination of defeated candidates and saboteurs who orchestrated such allegation to attract sympathy.
Recalling that even in his market where construction of more shops are going on with the approval of the State government, those defeated severally, still went to court and were defeated and also not satisfied, petitioned Government that gave the approval, to frustrate the construction but the court and Government ordered that work on the project continues.
“We have approval from Anambra State Physical Planning Board and a solid recommendation from the Commerce and Industry Ministry, even before the new Commissioner came on board and he merely authenticated the approval after perusal and the project is 30 per cent constructed and we hope to get it completed on record time.
“We assured the genuine traders that their shops are intact and those members without shops will have one, despite the antics of the opposition, what the traders should do is to disregard the few that failed election and listen to the executive that is interested in their welfare,” Ozorkwere stated.
In their own speeches,Vice president, Chief Ikechukwu Onyegbu, the scribe of the market, Uchenna Malobi, and Financial Secretary, Chief Alexander Orji said that the documents were there for all to glance and know that the project has the backing of the State Government, duely approved by the State Physical Planning Board and endorsed also by the Commerce and Industry Ministry.
