Onitsha Drug Market Fire: Soludo Lays Foundation Stone To Rebuild Burnt Shops

By Julie Sylvia, Onitsha

Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State, has laid the foundation stone to rebuild shops deliberately demolished to pave way for excavator machine to penetrate into the Onitsha drug market and quench the inferno that gutted the market on 8th November last year.

Recall that on the fateful day, eight persons reportedly died and scores sustained various degrees of injuries even as wares and shops worth millions of naira were destroyed beyond recognition.

Laying the foundation stone, the governor, who was ably represented by the Onitsha South caretaker committee chairman, Hon Emeka Orji, said “We were sent for this, we know how money were being collected for getting approval for building this place, and how some people are always at my office for this, we have been planning for this for a long time, so I told them to draw plan with an access road, which they did and brought to me,I liked it and sent to the governor, he liked it also and approved it.

“Ogbogwu is free to build their burnt shops, but they have to draw their plan for approval, time has passed when one builds anyhow, as he likes and told the allied traders to start building immediately,” he stated.

In his own speech, the chairman of Chainsaw and Allied Dealers Association, Chief Livinus Onyebuchi Umeh, thanked the governor for sending the Onitsha South caretaker chairman to come on his behalf, and commended the council chairman for his sleepless night to see that the shops were rebuilt by pleading to the governor.

“These shops were deliberately given out for demolition to save lives and property of fellow traders as sacrifice. When we pleaded for assistance that it would take #30million to rebuild, nobody came to our rescue, but today the Governor has approved and did the ground breaking for the shops to be rebuilt.

“We are happy with him because some of us who did the sacrifice are in the village, over poverty since after the sacrifice. Like Oliver Twist, we still need more help,” he pleaded.

In his own contribution, the secretary of Conflict Resolution Committee of Anambra State Amalgamated Traders’ Association, ASMATA, comrade Peter Okala, thanked the chairman who took the matter to the Governor, who gave approval.

“The foundation laying has been approved and done through the council chairman, the governor knows the buildings that will go down and the one that will stand, that’s the reason he saw our own as one of the buildings that will stand.
There are so many buildings here in bridgehead that were built on the supposed spaces,” he stated.

Bro Chukwulota Ndubuisi, Chairman of Onitsha Drug Dealers thanked the Governor who was represented by Onitsha South Caretaker Committee Chairman for coming for the foundation laying of the shops being demolished to pave way for rescuing of the victims.

”What they did that resulted to this their condition is not bad, but I couldn’t do anything, it is for the government to decide, I thank the Governor for his decision and thank the victims for their patience so far”he said.

Ikenna Umeh, a trader and one of the victims in the market, thanked the governor for his straightforwardness in whatever he is doing.

“I am one of the victims and we have tried our human best to erect the shops but our power couldnt do it because our power couldn’t be above the government, all our plans failed until God touched the governor and made him to understand that we are not the cause of the incident, that we only volunteer our shops so that there will be access for rescuing the victims,” he stated.

He advised his co-victims, whom some of them have no other source of income apart from their demolished shops, and some who now turn to beggars to be happy that in no distant time their shops will be back to them