From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
The shop owners of Human Fence Line, Zone One, Onitsha Main Market, Anambra State, have said that they would rehabilitate their shops to avert fire disaster due to the deplorable wooden structure of the shops.
The traders and shop owners of the main market line who deal on clothes and fabrics said that their unanimous decision to embark on the rehabilitation of the shop followed the approval granted by the state government for the project to be done.
The Chairman of the market line, Chief Reggis Madu, who addressed the media, said that prior to the development, the state House of Assembly had invited the traders on the matter, stating that the legislative body approved the rehabilitation of the shops to avert looming danger posed by the harmattan period.
The chairman denied any plan to block the park as alleged in some quarters, stressing that they will only rehabilitate the existing shops.
“We were invited by the State House of Assembly to know whether we are the real shop owners of the area, they asked us whether we really wrote to the state government for approval for the rehabilitation of the existing shops, we said yes and they promised to liaise with the Executive arm to facilitate the approval of the project.
“We wrote to the state government to either allow us rehabilitate the place or it will do that because of the wooden structure existing for many years in that place due to fear of fire outbreak. And government has graciously approved the project but some unknown persons are trying to twist the truth. They said that Chairman of the main market, Mr. Kenneth Onyeka wanted to build new market at the park, which is untrue and misleading.
“We want to state categorically that no new market is being constructed to replace the park but we unanimously agreed to rehabilitate our existing wooden shops to avert fire disaster. We don’t want to block the park but construct block walls that will not be prone to fire because we are selling clothing materials,” Madu said.