* ‘We’ve over 5,000 shops in the new says Market Chairlady*

FROM : LarryBravo Nwaiwu, Enugu

The Enugu State Government has allayed fears of traders at Ogige Market, Nsukka over the planned construction of a modern transport terminal in the area, assuring that the newly built Aku Road Ultra-Modern Market would accommodate them all, while compensation would also be paid to traders whose structures would be affected by the project.

This was even as the Chairlady of Aku Road Ultra-modern Market, Nkemdilim Ugwuagbo, confirmed the existence of over 5,000 shops and empty plots for expansion in the new market, which she had been lying fallow for many years.

The assurances came during yet another town hall meeting between the state government and the traders and leadership of the market at Adada House, GRA, Nsukka on Wednesday preparatory to the commencement of demolition of the encroached portion of the Old Park at Ogige Market on Saturday, May 25, 2024.

The Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Obi Ozor, in a heart-to-heart dialogue with the traders, said there was  need to rejig the state’s transport system to match with what is obtainable in the developed countries of the world, adding that it made no sense for the administration to build all the roads in Enugu and end up with unkept and highly disorganised and outdated motor parks that make life difficult for commuters.

“The Dr. Peter Mbah Administration has resolved to ensure a total overhaul of our transportation system: air, railway, road, and even the waterways.

“The contractors that will handle the railway project from Enugu, Nsukka to Uzo-Uwani are already in Enugu, and of course you know the governor is already on his toes to ensure that the international terminal at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu is completed and functional.

“Bus Rapid Transport, BRT, buses with 80-passenger capacity have already been bought and will arrive in Enugu in no distant time. All this is because the state has discovered that half of our salaries go to transportation. We want to reduce the pains of Ndi Enugu and uplift their standard of living.

“We need to start developing Igbo land and change our transportation system so that our people can travel, import, and export their goods with ease.

“We also want to make a passionate appeal that those affected should bring their documents for enumeration, as it will help us to pay compensation and allocate spaces once the project is completed in 12-month time. We will give them the right of first refusal,” Ozor said.

Addressing the traders, the Chief Executive Officer, Peace Mass Transit Ltd, Sam Onyishi, called on the traders and the people of Nsukka to be law-abiding and see the project as theirs own, cooperating  with the state government to ensure that the project comes to fruition.

Also speaking, the Chairlady of Aku Road Ultra-modern Market, Nkemdilim Ugwuagbo, said the new market was big enough to take all the traders, but has been fallow for so many years. She cautioned against needless politicisation of a project that stands to benefit the people of Nsukka in general.

“We have over 5,000 empty shops in this market with empty lands for expansion.The last administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi wanted to build the terminal, but the people disagreed. Today, Governor Peter Mbah is out to do it. We should know that development has a way of displacing people, but what matters is how the masses tend to benefit from it. I am very sure that the people of Nsukka will rejoice in the end,” the Chairlady said.

On the allegation of the high cost of renting shops in the new market, she explained that it was well-captured in the constitution of the market that no shop should be rented above N5,000 a month and none should be sold above N4 million.

Lending his voice also, the immediate past Chairman of Nsukka Local Government, Hon. Walter Ozioko, expressed his dissatisfaction with how some unscrupulous persons were selling shops at the new market at exorbitant prices and urged the traders to report anyone indulging in such acts to the chairlady of the market for immediate revocation of ownership of the shops.

Meanwhile, the traditional ruler of Isiakpu Community in Nsukka, Igwe Patrick Okolo, commended Governor Mbah for the project, which he described as laudable, and urged the government to ensure that the affected traders were adequately compensated .