BY CHUKWUEBUKA OHIZU / UMUAHIA
Abia State Government has directed the immediate suspension of all actions taken with regard to the purported dissolution of the leadership of all Markets in the state, a source revealed.
Recall that our correspondent reported that palpable tension had engulfed all the major markets in the state, especially in Aba last Wednesday January 29,2025 following the announcement of the appointment of a new leadership for Abia markets by the state Commissioner for Trade and Commerce, Hon Kingsley Nwokocha.
A situation that the majority of the existing Market leadership said that allowing such new arrangements to stand, is tantamount to handing over Abia markets on a platter to the same reactionary and oppressive elements that the people battled so hard to dislodge in 2023.
It was gathered that the Commissioner initially directed the new leaders to take over the running of the affairs of the market from the existing ones, effective last week Thursday.
Daily News Nigeria reports that the development was not well received by the majority of the traders, and their leaderships, who expressed fears that the markets and the state as a whole may have been unwittingly handed back to the same dark forces that held the state down for over two decades.
As gathered, this led leaderships and traders from Ariaria, Ahia-Ohuru, Eziukwu Market, Ekeoha Market etc.to storm the state’s seat of power on Wednesday in Umuahia to protest against the development unfavorable development.
Our correspondent gathered that Governor Alex Otti, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Caleb Ajagba while addressing the protesting traders and their leaders also directed a return to the status quo.
According to Ajagba, “We want to thank you for the peaceful manner you have conducted yourselves. As a responsible Government ,we want to assure you that, having listened to your grievances ,the right thing must be done.
“As you may be aware, government has ordered the suspension of all actions so far taken as regards the issue of the appointment of a new leadership for the markets due to its belief that things should be done the right way.”
The Chief of Staff however expressed Government displeasure with the lip service being paid to the issue of tax payments by the traders and their leaderships.
Ajagba noted that without payments of tax and rents by citizens, it will be practically impossible for any government to meet its obligations to the people.
He continued and said, “At this point, I am urging you, to go back and reconsider your attitude towards the payments of government’s statutory levies and taxes.
“You have to show that that you, are also capable of doing the job given to you to do. If people do not meet their civic obligations, I don’t think it will be possible for the Government to deliver to the people.
“At least ,you have acknowledged that Government is trying the much it could to fix things in the state ,and there is no way it can succeed in that regard without funds .
“So you people have to wake up, as far as the issue of Internally generated revenue is concerned
“Our goal in this new fiscal year is to improve on the internally generated revenue IGR of the state, and you people have to take it seriously.
“As an evidence of how unserious you are about revenue collection, most of you don’t know the number of shops in your markets.
“If you don’t know the number of shops in your various markets, how then are you expected to be serious about collecting revenue?
“So you people have to sit up ,and help the Government, in its avowed task of moving the state forward. We can not continue to do things the same, and unhelpful way.”
Earlier the leader of the protesting traders, Sir Alphonsus Udeigbo, said that allowing the new list of market leadership to stand means that the 2027 election in the state has already been rigged and won by the same dark forces they battle hard to displace in 2023.
“Your Excellency Sir it might interest you to know that the concerns of the dissolved executives and the traders under the ASMATA at large is futuristic in the sense that, we have been able to properly situate the development and have been able to figure out through the questionable characters of the proposed market Executives that have been penciled down to replace us that there a calculated attempt to rig the 2027 governorship election in the state by the pposition parties where these proposed executives were selected from which may not be known by the Honourable Commissioner for Trade and Commerce .
“So, on that note, we want to say that ,we bear no grudges against anyone and or the authorities, hence this rally today is not protest against our dissolution,but against the proposed executive members because of their political antecedents,” the ASMATA President stated.
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