Traders in Ogbo Ogwu Market beg State Govt to Conduct Election Into the Union

By Oge Onyeanusi, Onitsha

Thousanda of traders in Ogbo Ogwu International Market Traders Union , Bridge Head Onitsha in Anambra State have lamented and called on the Anambra State Government to conduct elections into the Associtaion.

According to the traders , the election of the market which was scheduled to hold on Wednesday February 2, 2022 by the electoral committee was cancelled through a letter signed by the permanent secretary state ministry of trade and commerce Mr. Samuel Ike over alleged unresolved issues.

The traders who stormed into the office of the caretaker committee chairman to demand for immediate conduct of the election that will usher in new democratically elected leaders of the market, saying they were tired of government appointed caretakers for the market, we want election .

Earlier , the market line chairmen and secretaries of the market had earlier written to the government and caretaker committee, demanding for an election in the market after several years of government appointed caretaker committee in the market .

Briefing newsmen in Ogbo Ogwu Market , Mr. Benjamin Ike, one of the Caretaker Committee Member , and also the Youth Leader of the market , from Aso Rock line said that the traders were ready to elect their leaders on Wednesday February 2, 2022 before the news of postponement of the election announced.

Ike also lamented that they are tired of government appointed caretaker. We want democratically elected market leaders. We are the traders and we know those that are capable of leading us and that is why we want to go to the field to vote for our choice candidates and who ever that emerges will lead us
decried the continued use of Caretaker Committees to run the affairs of the market since the year 2014.

Accoding to him, ” We the traders cannot take law into our hands and that is why we are demanding for peaceful election where we shall come out to vote for our choice candidates than to appoint caretaker for us. We are calling on government through the commissioner for trade and commerce and the Permeant Secretary to allow us conduct our election”.

Some of the traders who spoked to the journalists , Chief Bonaventure , Chinedu Okechukwu , Chigozie Nwawude and Sunday Ozoemena were lamented the situation is backed by some influential traders within the market who allegedly connivance with some persons to continue to scuttle the efforts to hold election.

“A caretaker committee is not accountable to testers, but to a few government officials that put them in office, added that 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 dire need to be attended to”, he said.

The Traders insisted that there was no crisis in the market to prevent the union election, and challenged the government to investigate the claim that crisis was brewing in the place as erroneously published by some persons.

“Our market is peaceful, there is no crisis contrary to the impression a few people are giving that violence will erupt if an election is conducted”, he said.

“This election is even to the advantage of the government because the revenue accruable to it will be fully remitted unlike now when some of them are diverted to private pockets of some government officials,” he said.