BY VINCENT UJUMADU

AWKA—TRADERS, under the aegis of the Onitsha Main Market Elders Forum, weekend, warned of a possible break down of law and order if nothing was done by law enforcement agents and leaders of the market to halt an attempt by some people to scuttle the planned election in the market.

Rising from a meeting in Onitsha, the forum called on the three zonal chairmen of the market to summon an emergency general meeting to brief the traders on the true position of things concerning the conduct of the election, with a view to calming frayed nerves.

The forum accused the outgoing chairman of the market, Mr. Nnamdi Unobuagha, of allegedly plotting to scuttle the election through clandestine moves to drag the state government into the matter.

According to the forum, the outgoing chairman was either planning to instal himself or his crony as caretaker chairman of the market, a move, it noted, must be resisted by the traders.

It urged Unobuagha to allow the electoral committee set up by the traders to do its work, adding that it was unfair for him to cause confusion in the area when his tenure was coming to an end.

But Unobuagha denied planning to scuttle the election, adding that those accusing him of the plot did not want to go through a screening process to be conducted by the State Security Service, SSS, as was done before he was elected.

“They have skeleton in their cupboard and that is why they are afraid of going through a screening process. Their allegation of a plan to appoint a caretaker committee is baseless,” he said.