SOS: Over 500 widows, others protest plot to eject them from Ochanja Market

By Uzo Ugwunze

No fewer than 1000 traders that composed of about 500 widows, Friday, stormed Oniitsha South Local Government Area headquarters, Anambra State, to protest alleged plot by the Transition Chairman, Hon Emeka Orji, to eject them from their Oduigbo section of the Ochanja Central market.

The protesters, led by their chairman, Chief Chukwudi Eke, accused the council chairman of collaborating with the Caretaker Chairman of Ochanja Central market, Chief Bonaventure Muo, to eject them in the name of building modern shops.

They carried placards with the inscription, “council chairman, Emeka Orji, what have we done to you, we are widows and eke our living from Oduigbo market, Gov. Soludo come to our rescue, they want to demolish the shops in the market to acquire more shops to be he ones they have”, among others.

Fielding questions from newsmen at the gate of the council headquarters, during the protest, Chief Eke said that, “The market chairman, Chief Muo and the council chairman, gave us two days to vacate the market or they will use carterpillars to demolish the over 300 shops.

“They said Sunday and Monday would be used for the demolition and asked us to vacate the market before they come up with their weapons of destruction. There was a time the Government came and told us that the market was dark that there should be light in the market by renovating it.

“We told them that we can do that by ourselves to their taste but because of interest they have in the market to have shops, they now want to eject us. 80 per cent of the traders here are widows that eke their living from the Oduigbo marrket.

“We plead to Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo to come to our rescue as we have no other person to understand our predicament except him as Nwa Mgbafor’, he stated.

Also reacting, the spokesperson of the widows, Mrs Ifeoma Emeka, lamented that the widows that make up majority of the traders in the market were being treated like slaves by the State Government.

’80 copper cent of the traders here are widows who irk their living from here. The council chairman and the Ochanja Central market chairman should not see us as slaves but people who are catering for their families since the death of their husbands that were the bread winners.

“The shops they want to demolish are modern shops and we are ready to renovate them by ourselves if asked to do so. I plead to Governor Soludo to come to the rescue of the traders” she pleaded.

Contacted, the council chairman, Emeka Orji , declined to comment on the issue but the Ochanja market chairman, Chief Muo, said that he was working based on instruction from Government.

According to him, “The Government wants to restore sanity in the market and ensure that those in the streets are brought into the markets to avoid unforeseen catastrophe.

“What the Government is doing g is for their own good, to avoid accidents and street trading g that is nuisance to the state. We are not sacking them rather to better their environment,” he stated.

In their various contributions, Chief Calistus Ahanonu, patron, Angus Ekemezie, youngest patron, Oyeka Abazu, stakeholder and Mrs Pauline Ejezie, urged Governor Soludo to come to their rescue.

Pics show the protesters Friday at the council local Govt headquarters.