Traders and Stakeholders of Ekeoha Shopping Center Aba have again expressed displeasure over an intention to pull down and remodel the Ekeoha Shopping Center Aba by the Abia State government.
The Traders expressed their feelings on Saturday in a Town-hall meeting which had in attendance, the Commissioner for Trade, commerce and Industry, Dr Chimezie Ukaegbu, the Leaders and Stakeholders of the market.
The meeting was held at the Abia Hotels, Umuahia.
The Traders who appealed to Government to suspend all plans regarding the remodeling, cited recent cases where Traders in other markets did not get back their shops after markets were pulled down for remodeling
According to them, 80 percent of traders borrowed money to construct their shops and described as untrue, insinuations that there were illegal structures in the market. They called on the government to conduct integrity test on the structure, to prove their claim
Reacting, the Commissioner for Trade, commerce and Industry Dr. Chimezie Ukaegbu who said he never discriminated any of the Traders from coming into the meeting, maintained that he only gave an instruction for the Traders to select their representatives from each zone.
While assuring the Traders that those with allocation papers would be considered first before others after the remodeling, the Commissioner disclosed that a three man committee comprising of the Ministry, the market union and the developer would be set up to discuss modalities on the way forward
Peoplesmind reports that some of the aggrieved Traders who were not allowed inside the meeting, later matched to government House in a protest where they were addressed by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor Mr Chinedu Ekeke
Peoplesmind