Stanley Uzoaru,Owerri
Imo State Government has directed all markets to remain closed on Friday to enable traders get rid of heaps of refuse accumulated by the immediate past government.
Chairman of the Environmental Sanitation Committee and former governor of the state, Ikedi Ohakim, briefed newsmen on the development after a stakeholders’ meeting on Monday.
He disclosed that the closure from the hour of 7am to 10 am would afford the traders to thoroughly clean up their environment.
Ohakim also said there would be a general restriction of movements in the state on Saturday as a result of the monthly cleanup exercise from the hour of 7 to 10 am.
To ensure a full compliance to the rules of the exercise, the former governor noted that 50,000 volunteers are expected to be deployed for the enforcement.
There would also be 10 mobile courts and waiting prison vans to convey defaulters straight to prison, Ohakim said.
All the markets in the state during the exercise are expected to be fumigated. The uniqueness of the exercise, Ohakim noted, is that prizes would be awarded to cleanest communities in the state, local governments and schools.
Meanwhile, the petition filed by the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate in Imo State, Ifeanyi Araraume, at the Imo State Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Owerri, the state capital, yesterday, received a boost as the court accepted all the evidences including the back end report.
Araraume, who spoke to newsmen after the court session, expressed delight at the acceptance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) back end report tendered by his counsel, Awa Kalu.
He expressed hope that with the report tendered, all illegal registrations not done electronically would be quashed.
“We tendered all evidences ranging from voters register, declaration sheets and card reader back end report from INEC.
“Back end report is very critical because in the guidelines issued by INEC, the only means of accreditation is by electronic, no room for manual accreditation.”