The Special Adviser to the Anambra State Governor on Trade and Markets, Evarist Uba, has said that ending the over five year old Monday sit-at-home is in the best interest of the state and the people.
He added that the state loses N8 billion monthly due to the exercise, a development that he said should not be allowed to continue.
Uba noted that with the measures being put in place by the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, to end the exercise, Monday sit-at-home would be thing of the past.
He stated this in his office at Jerome Udorji Secretariat Complex, Awka, adding that the shutting down of Onitsha Main Market and the Nnewi Auto Spare Parts Market and their re-opening have sent strong signals to other traders in other markets in the state that similar punishment could be meted out to them if they fail to comply.
He also disclosed that the state government has provided adequate security and constructed a good number of access roads to major markets in the state.
He said the atmosphere in markets since the inception of Soludo’s administration have remained peaceful which is vital to economic and commercial activities.
He said, “Ending the Monday sit-at-home is in our best interest. The state is losing economic and commercial activities to other states and also losing about N8billion revenue monthly due to the Monday sit-at-home. It is hurting the state and the people.
“We appeal with commercial bus drivers to make their buses available on Mondays to end the exercise. With the measures being put in place by governor to end the monster, in no distant time, Monday Sit-at-home would be thing of the past.
“I came into office as a result of resignation of the former Commissioner for Commerce, Trade and Industry, Chimaobi Ngonadi, and the ministry was divided, with the trade and markets were separated from industry.
“When I took over, I tried to attend to the problems and issues due to the fact that I was a one-time Chairman of Onitsha North Local Government Area. Before I came in, there have been some markets that have caretaker committee members, so I maintained them.
“The previous caretaker committee members in the markets turned it into political offices, but I developed a policy that caretaker committee chairmen must be traders in those markets. And not only being traders in those markets but traders with identified shops.
“Because if you are a trader in the market, you should be able to know the issues your fellow traders have, and protect the traders you are superintending and also carry out any government directives in terms of collection of government revenues to avoid some traders trying to evade paying the appropriate revenues despite having the money”.
According to him, Soludo cleared a huge refuse dump at Ochanja Roundabout and put a water fountain there, adding that he constructed Iweka Road to Moore Street to Main Market, from Bridgehead to Niger Street to Sokoto Road to Main Market, which were done to enable traders have access to Main Market that used to be blocked during market days and festive seasons.
He also added that the state government constructed Bank Road, Nnewi which transverses the Nnewi Auto Spare Parts Market and Adili Hotel Road to Building Materials Road, and everybody is very happy with what the governor is doing.
Uba further stated that the ongoing demolition of Onitsha Main Market is in tandem with Soludo’s mantra, “if you cannot park, you cannot shop”.
“In the past, you could not even drive from Old Market Road to Main Market on a market day, because the whole place was always blocked. It is only a strong person that can park about half kilometre away and then take a tricycle and get close to Main Market and not right inside the Main Market,”
He added that the demolition is aimed at remodelling the market and ensuring that things are properly put in place like construction of parks at Main Market so that things would be properly done, and also put a stop to disappearance of some wheelbarrow pushers with the goods of some traders.
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