Traders urge Anambra Govt. To Conduct Union’s Election
Some members of the Medicine Dealers Association, (Ogba-Ogwu International) Bridge Head, Onitsha have called on the Anambra Government to conduct elections into the Union.
The concerned members who spoke to Journalists in Onitsha on Saturday said there was no crisis in the market as erroneously presented by some elements.
A group had last week held a protest urging the government to shift the union’s February 2, 2022 election which the state heeded to.
But in a briefing today, Mr Norbert Okoli, spokespersons of the concerned traders decried the continued use of Caretaker Committees to run the affairs of the market since the year 2014.
Okoli said the situation was backed by some influential traders within the market who allegedly connivance with some persons to scuttle the efforts by majority of the traders to hold the election.
Okoli, a former interim secretary of the market, said the picture of hostile environment which some people are creating was force as the clique was using the ploy rob both traders and government of certain benefits.
“A caretaker committee is not accountable to traders, but to a few agent close to government officials that put them in office.
“As we speak, government is planning to relocate our market and with the continued stay of this caretaker, most traders feel that their interest will not be protected.
“Apart from the above, the state is losing several millions of naira as revenue due to the level of malpractices associated with the operations of this undemocratic body”, he said.
“Our members have yearned for election because they need a leadership that will be accountable to them, the infrastructures in the market are decaying and a lot of other things are in dare need to be attended to”, he said.
Also speaking, Mr Ogbonna Nweke said there was no crisis in the market to prevent the union election.
Nweke said the government should investigate the claim that crisis was brewing in the place as erroneously published by some persons.
“This election is even to the advantage of the government because the revenue accruable to it will be fully remitted unlike now that some are diverting it to private pockets ,” he said.
