•Abia to demolish illegal shops in Ariaria Market

From Okey Sampson, Aba

Grazing and rearing of cattle at night has been banned in Enugu State after a meeting between Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and leaders of Fulani/Shuwa Arab herdsmen in the state.
Also banned in Enugu are carrying of firearms or any form of ammunition by herdsmen and movement of cattle from one location to another at night in the state.
Another decision taken at the meeting was the setting up of a peace committee made up of representatives of the various interest groups from the Fulani\Shuwa Arab community in the state, government representatives as well as security agencies.
At the meeting convened by Ugwuanyi, it was also decided that compensation will be paid by herdsmen whose cattle destroy farm crops while the communities will pay for any cattle killed by their members.
The governor had convened the meeting in furtherance of ongoing efforts of the state government to find a lasting solution to the lingering clashes between Fulani herdsmen and their host communities, especially in the wake of the recent Nimbo killings. It was also decided that violators of these resolutions will face the full wrath of the law.
Addressing the meeting which held at the Government House, Enugu, Ugwuanyi sued for peace among all residents of the state even as he regretted the recent attacks by the herdsmen.
Present at the meeting were the secretary of the Fulani Community in the state, Bala Ardo, the leader of the Fulani community, Alhaji Ado Saidu Basu, and the leader of the Shuwa Arab community in the state, Alhaji Ahmed Yahaya, while the traditional ruler of Ibute Nze led leaders of three communities of Akpakwume, Ezi Nze and Ibute Nze communities in Udi council area of the state  who also attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, Abia State Government has said it has concluded arrangements to demolish illegal shops in Ariaria International Market in Aba to pave way for its re-modelling.
This, government said, would not only make the market a place for buying and selling but also a tourist site to bring it in line with global standard.
Disclosing this in Aba, chairman of Abia Market Development Committee (AMDC), Mr. Solomon Nwaigwe said already, the committee, with the backing from the state government had engaged the services of a reputable foreign firm with the pre-requisite technological know how to re-model the market.
Nwigwe said the remodeling exercise would be in phases with the first involving about 10, 000 shops, adding that at the end, over 100, 000 shops would be involved.
He lamented the level of decay in the market and attributed cases of flooding in the area to awkward attitude of traders, whom he accused of erecting illegal structures on top of drainage system in the market, and indiscriminate dumping of refuse in waterways, causing water to overflow the drains and finding its way into traders’ shops.
He said part of the mandate given to the committee by the state government was to restore the master plan of the market and also to ensure that the market retains its international flare.
“It might interest you to know that we have carefully carried out proper checks at the market. And we discovered that the traders have built lockup shops on top of drainages in the market. They have also formed the habit of dumping refuse into the drainage whenever it is raining; thereby blocking the little space water current would have been passing through, resulting in frequent flooding of the market at the slightest drop of rains.
“They have also built lockup shops in a space that was originally meant for motor parks. In the past, trailers and heavy-duty trucks used to come into the market to offload their wares, but that is not the case today as traders have taken and converted every available space in and outside the market as shops.
“By the time we are through with what we are going to do in the market with some interested private investors, we will not only be restoring the master plan of the market, we will be creating more space and more shops for traders to acquire and that will end the rising case of street or roadside trading in the market as it is the obtainable at the moment,” Nwaigwe said.
He debunked the allegation that members of the committee were exploiting and collecting bribe from the traders and said that he was yet to receive such complain and assured legal shop owners in the market that they will get back their shop(s) after the exercise while illegal owners will forfeit ownership of such illegal and unapproved structures.
He disclosed that government had already awarded contract for the reconstruction of the dilapidated  Ariaria International Market link road.
He said the reconstruction of the road which will be two-way carriage would start from the Enugu/Port Harcourt end of Faulks road and terminate on the Aba/Owerri road end of Brass Street.
He added that the contract was awarded to a reputable firm, SETRACO due to the importance Gov Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration attaches to the market.
Anambra, Governor Willie Obiano  has charged traders in the state to contribute their quota in the provision of infrastructural development by prompt payment of their taxes to government designated banks.
He said the achievement recorded so far by his administration was due to the support of Anambra people, saying he has been judiciously using the taxes paid by the traders to provide amenities in the state.
Speaking at the commissioning of one kilometre road built by the President of BridgeHead Market, Onitsha, Chief Sunday Obinze, the governor said the traders in the state had been the backbone of his achievements through their contributions and taxes and urged them to continue in that gesture.
Obiano, who was represented by his Special Assistant on Special Duties and Executive Director, Task-force on Monitoring and Enforcement on Parks and Markets, Chief Chris Nkem Uzoechina said he had sunk borehole at the market and promised to provide more amenities to the market.
The governor, who commended the leadership of the market led by Chief Obinze for his doggedness of embarking on road construction at the market for easy access of the market by traders and buyers, thanked him for complementing his achievements in the state.
In his remarks, Chief Obinze said the market was the highest in terms of revenue generation to the government and pledged not to relent in so doing, adding that his intention was to complete and link the road to the Niger street to avoid congestion.
He appealed to the government to provide fire- fighting vehicle in the market to fight any fire outbreak in the market, which he said had been worrying the traders, ‘because prevention is better than cure’.
Obinze said his leadership embarked on rehabilitation of the road at the cost of N5 million on direct labour along Oduigbo-Tinker section due to flooding over the years, which had destroyed traders’ wares and property worth millions of naira lost because of bad roads and lack of drainage.
He said his administration, under one year has renovated market halls and bought chairs, adding that he has settled over 1,000 traders’ cases, stressing that the achievement recorded was based on the security of lives of traders provided by the governor.
The Chairman of Patrons at the market, Sir F. C Okoye and some other traders who spoke with Daily Sun on the projects commended the president for changing the face of the market through the projects, saying that the leadership of the market was doing what the successive administration was unable to do and pledged their support.