P-Harcourt traders send SOS to Amaechi

By George Onah
Port Harcourt— Over 5,000 traders of the newly constructed Mile 1 Market, Rumuwoji, Port Harcourt, have appealed to the Rivers State Governor, Mr  Chibuike Amaechi, to urgently intervene in an alleged plan by some top politicians in the state to short-change them in the reallocation of stalls in the market.

The traders in an appeal the Governor, yesterday, said they were “confused and downcast” by the action of the Ministry handling the allocation to throw open the sale of forms to the public rather than the displaced traders after they had paid a non-refundable fee of N10,000.

“We reason that throwing open the sale of reallocation forms to the public rather than traders would expose the exercise to politicians and non-traders, who would acquire stalls at the market and turn around to rent same out to the genuine traders at exorbitant prices.”

The appeal by Mr. Daniel Iheme and Uche Marvellous,  chairman and secretary respectively, of the traders association, said they perceived “ethnicity in the plan to throw open the allocation of the stalls, which would ultimately generate ill feelings of deprivation.”

This current arrangement is contrary to the initial open assurance by the Governor that the traders, who were already at the market before the reconstruction would not be displaced but would get back their stalls and that politicians would not be allowed to hijack the allocation.

“This administration prides itself on populism and the creation of jobs, happiness and equal opportunities for its people and all Nigerians living in the state. We call on the Governor to urgently step into the matter and reassure the traders that his words are his bond.

Our fears over the displacement of our members are further heightened by the recent clamp down on street traders by the government, which puts the traders in very precarious position as the displaced may not have other means of decent livelihood,” the traders added