Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha

Anambra State Government, yesterday, disbanded the Amalgamated Markets Traders Association of Anambra State (AMATAS).

Consequently, the government has directed newly constituted Anambra State Markets Amalgamated Traders Association (ASMATA) to take o0pzver the office premises.

Commissioner for Trade,  Commerce and Wealth Creation, Dr. Christian Madubuko, who led market leaders and armed security agents to take over the ‘Traders House’ built by former leadership of AMATAS at Modebe Street, Onitsha, told ASMATA’s leadership to occupy the house.

Madubuko personally supervised the breaking of keys to the entrance gate to the two-storey building and the offices in the Traders’ House, before the offices were ransacked by officials of the government, assisted by some leaders of the markets and some traders who volunteered to assist the state government take over the building by force.

The commissioner ordered removal of all insignias, inscriptions in and outside the building and photographs of former president general of AMATAS, a former commissioner of Trade and  Commerce and their replacement.

While addressing newsmen in one of the large conference rooms, Madubuko said he was asked by Governor Willie Obiano to recover the Traders House for the traders in the state, following some alleged sharp practices by the leadership of the disbanded AMATAS.

“Today is a special day for the traders,  it is a freedom day for Anambra State traders, who have for the past 10 years been under the bondage of AMATAS.

“The leadership of AMATAS was dissolved and they insisted they will, without the consent of the state government, continue to operate.

“We earlier agreed with its former president general, Chief Okwudili Ezenwankwo, that once we are ready to take over the Traders House, Chief Vincent Ifeme should hand over all keys to us, but as you can see, since we came, I have called and sent text messages to both men without any response from them, hence, the decision to break into the house.

“The  land on which the Traders House was built was bought by the traders, so, they should not be prevented from entering  into the house. The leadership of former AMATAS has been accusing my office of collecting levies, and they have been writing all sorts of deceptive memos and letters to the governor against me, claiming I wanted to impose a leader on the traders. The governor knows what I am capable of doing and ignored them,  because their allegations lack substance.”