Onitsha market begins decongestion of roads, sack street traders, illegal tolls, others

By Polycarp Ifeanyi, Onitsha

Following directives of the Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo for market leaders in the state to decongest their Market, main Market Onitsha under the leadership of Chief Innocent Ezeoha has began to comply by decongesting all roads across the main Market.

It would be recalled that Governor Soludo on his resumption of duty as the Governor of the State made it clear that he will reposition the State including Markets. He accused Market leaders of being responsible of  blocking available spaces in the Markets by erecting illegal stores and buildings on top of gutters. 

Soludo reiterated that he would modernize all the Markets, just as he directed all  Market leaders to decongest roads inside their Market and create spaces for packing of vehicles and provide access roads inside Market for in case of emergency situation.

Speaking to newsmen in his office, the Chairman of Onitsha Main Market, Chief Innocent Ezeoha affirmed that illegal structures littered everywhere in the Market which he said attracted street trading, touting activities,  illegal tolls, snatching of phones and bags as well as all manners of pocket criminalities. 

Ezennia of Umuchu stated that they started decongesting roads from Bright Street and spanned to other lines inside the Market and they will continue the exercise until they actualize sanity and restore back old glory of Onitsha Main Market, saying that they have sacked all street traders, Touts as well as banned illegal levies on barrow pushers and hawkers. 

” Main Market is a well organized Market. We have passed through a lot of things. And so, we have deviced means of tackling them. Like issue of touting, if anybody engaged in touting activities, the person will be tracked down immediately because we know his line or zone. Everyone comes from a line or zone and we know how everyone operates. So, if crime is committed, we know where it emanated.

But our problem is all the Markets around Main Market. For enstance, Kano street, Sokoto  Road, Bida Roads, New Market Road, Emeka Offor Plazas. These are Markets and plazas that do not belong to Main Market but,  if there is any crime incident, people always believe that Main Market people committed it which we don’t want again.

So, all these Market continued to bring bad names to Main Market and I have determined to solve it . We had security meeting recently which we summoned all the Plazas and mandated them to submit the names of various plazas’s  Chairman to us so that should there be incident of crime again, such plazas will provide the culprit otherwise, we hold him responsible” 

Chief Ezeoha however noted that Onitsha Main Market has structural standard right from his predecessors and he has committed to maintain the standard and improve more.

He disclosed that his achievements within few period of his administration are enormous, saying that he would not blow his  trumpet but the prominent ones included provision of assorted seats for general meetings and adjusted closing time of Market from 5pm to 6pm so that traders would no longer rush while closing for the day’s trading. 

” It is only people that would testify all my achievements after my tenure because if I begin to recount them,  pride might set in , to me, I know best thing to offer as a leader. But I always pray to God to grant me wisdom and knowledge to countenue to lead the Market to the glory of God”