By Okpalaume Mary
Owing to the level of progress attained in rebuilding the almost abandoned Sapele Main Market by the Delta State government, Sapele traders have applauded Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, defying the rains recently to welcome the governor who came for an on the spot assessment on the progress made so far in the rebuilding of the market which was razed in 2010.
The governor had in the course of his campaign promised to speed up works at the Sapele ultramodern market, the Sapele township stadium, revamp the Sapele Technical College and the moribund African Timber and Plywood industry (AT&P). He also promised then, to revamp and expand Songhai Delta, Amukpe as a catalyst for agricultural revolution keyed into his SMART agenda for Delta State.
True to his words, the governor, in just one hundred days since he assumed office, has visited the Songhai Delta, Amukpe for the orientation for Youths Agricultural Entrepreneur Programme (YAGEP) where over three thousand youths were engaged in various agricultural vocations. He has also inspected the Sapele Technical College to ascertain the level of work done before coming to the Sapele main market where works are ongoing at high speed.
Okowa assures Sapele traders of early completion
Addressing the traders during the visit, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa promised to complete the Sapele main market as scheduled.
He told the traders that the scope of the market has been expanded to accommodate more traders and other facilities that would enhance their trade which the market lacked before it was razed by inferno in 2006.
He advised the traders to be patient just as he warned some of the traders who occupied the stores illegally to vacate them because the market has not been officially commissioned.
Sapele market will be ready by December – contractor
The contractor handling the building of the Sapele main market, PRIMI Construction Nigeria Limited, has assured that the market will be ready by December this year.
The chief operating officer, Engr. Ladi fowora who took journalists on facility tour of the ongoing works at the site said the governor was pleased with the rate of work achieved so far adding that the governor promised to offset some of the outstanding bills to enable the company finish the work at the expected time.
“We are very pleased with the governor’s coming to our site today and it has given us a lot of encouragement on this project which has been on for quite a while. We are reaching a point of completion of this project. The governor came and inspected the civil works we have completed; he went all the way to the jetty and he was pleased with our work. Our aim is to complete this project before the year ends and by God’s grace we will. As you can see, the market traders and the people of the community are very anxious for us to complete the project and we are up to the task,” the COO said.
He said the Sapele ultra modern market has one thousand, six hundred shops including four hundred open sheds, four jetties, four warehouses, cold rooms, police station, fire service department, banks, toilets and pipe borne water.
Also, the Executive Vice Chairman of PRIMI, Pastor Jide Omoyajowo said that the market has not been completed as at this time owing to the expansion in the scope of work which he said were not part of the original plan for the market adding that the rate of expansion had caused them to encroach into the waters of River Ethiope.
“In an attempt to get these numbers, we have to extend into water – reclaiming the land and hence we have the shorelines protection. After the filling and reclamation, we deed the jetties for the inhabitants to enjoy the work.”
Sapele Market Traders Association begs governor to allocate shops to original owners
Meanwhile, Sapele Main Market Traders Association has appealed to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to allocate the market shops to former occupants of the market before it was gutted by fire on the 14th of April, 2006.
In a statement by the president of the association, Hon. James K. Ajueshi, the traders maintained that the original owners of shops should be entitled to retain their respective shops on completion market.
He lamented that the order for the illegal occupants of stores in the yet to be completed market to vacate the premises had been defiantly refused and advised the state governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa to boldly enforce the order without delay.
While expressing profound gratitude to the governor for the accelerated construction work at the market site, Hon. Ajueshi promised to ensure that the facilities in the market is well protected and that the traders will also ensure that market is kept clean at all times. They however appealed to Governor Okowa to see to the speedy completion of the market before his 200 days in office so that they can move into it for the end of year sales.
…we do not recognise DESTMALC
The Sapele Market Traders Association also told news men in an interview that they do not recognise the Delta State Traders and Market Leaders Council (DESTMALC) which they accused of perpetuating the illegal allocation of the shops to their members and cronies.
They said the DESTMALC is a group of people who are not even traders who came together in a bid to highjack the shops from the original owners.
He said, “sometime ago, we had somebody who claimed he was sent by the former Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan to come and allocate the market shops. We protested to the House of Assembly and even went to court – we sued the state government and Sapele local government. We have been in this market for over forty years. We discovered that in the allocation of the shops under Uduaghan, due process was not followed. In a normal situation, after the construction of a market, the state government will hand it over to the local government which will in turn supervise the allocation to traders. Moreover, an agreement was reached in 2006 by us and the then chairman of Sapele local government, Hon. Monday Igbuya that when the market is reconstructed, the shops will be reallocated to the original owners. But it was a big surprise to us when somebody came from Asaba to allocate the shops to certain people. So we protested to Asaba and when Governor Okowa came in, he agreed to look into our case and promised to eject the illegal occupants from the market.”
One of the market women who claimed anonymity said the traders are happy with Governor Okowa for the speedy reconstruction of the market remarking that after the completion, the governor has agreed to reallocate the shops to the original owners.
She lambasted DESTMALC for causing confusion in the market reiterating that DESTMALC was just an unrecognised union of some persons who were not traders but were out to highjack the stores from the original owners.
She pleaded with Governor Okowa to eject the illegal occupants from the market shops and sanction them for defiantly refusing the governor’s order to vacate the market.
DESTMALC reacts
However, in a sharp reaction, Chief Mrs. Queen Aminoma, the president of the Delta State Traders and Market Leaders Council (DESTMALC) debunked the allegation that she was allocating market shops to her members stressing that it is only the government that has the right to do so.
She explained that DESTMALC is the main umbrella body governing the associations of market traders in the state adding that the Sapele Main Market Traders Association is under the DESTMALC just as other trade associations like fish sellers, pepper sellers, and the rest.
On alleged division in the market, she asserted that the Council is not divided reiterating that all other associations in the market is under the DESTMALC just as she advised traders to shun partisan politics.
As controversy over who controls Sapele main market lingers
It could be recalled that in July 8 this year, an online publication- the Ndokwa Reporters reported that DESTMALC dragged the Delta State governor Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa to court over the governor’s order for traders to vacate the stores.
According to the post, DESTMALC said that the past administration told them the market is in three phases, and on completion of phases one and two, the government allocated the shops.
According to the association, “first, the Ministry of Information announced the sales of the form which its members bought and the stores were allocated, that the past government also gave its members a bank account with Stirling Bank with account number 0032569181 which majority of its members have paid the stollage fees into the said account that suddenly it was on the news that hon. Monday Igbuya came with a scheme to reallocate the stores already allocated in the market, that he, Monday Igbuya, ought to be the one to allocate the stores built by the Delta State government.
DESTMALC alleged that Hon. Igbuya is putting pressure on Governor Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa through the Secretary to the State Government to evacuate the traders and reallocate the stores already allocated.
DESTMALC is therefore saying through its lawyer, Obakpolor Emmanuel. Esq, a Benin based lawyer that there is a binding contract between Delta State government and DESTMALC since government is a continuous process hence DESTMALC members have paid the stollage fees to the Delta State government.
The suit which was filed on Thursday, 2nd day of July, 2015 with suit number S/45/2015 has a motion on notice for interlocating injunction to restrain the government and five other location injunctions to restrain the government and five other defendants from carrying out their overt and covert acts and a writ of summons.
Others in the suit are former Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan; Attorney General Delta State; Chief Of Staff, Government House; Accountant General Delta State; Ministry Of Commerce and Industry; Ministry of Housing; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Information and Chief P. D. O. Akpeki (former Chief of Staff, Government House). It is on record that all the defendants have been served.
