Traders at Ekeoha Shopping Centre, Aba, Abia State have pleaded with Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu to save lives by stopping the ongoing erection of new shops within the market.
Their call became necessary following the collapse of a poorly constructed warehouse inside the market on October 1st night.
The traders said although the collapsed warehouse was not constructed during the tenure of Mr. Friday Dimiri as market Chairman, but it is necessary government stop him from going ahead with the ongoing erection of what they called more dangerous illegal structures around the market.
Recall that last month, Aba City Blog reported that traders at Shopping Centre wrote a petition to Abia State House of Assembly on the indiscriminate erection of shops on open spaces at the market.
In the petition obtained by Aba City Blog, the traders alleged that the Market Chairman and Abia Ministry of Trade and Investment have converted open spaces designed for walkways, fire station, banking hall, car parks and emergency exit points for human and vehicular movements to shops.
Aba City Blog reports that several parts of Ekeoha Shopping Centre, new shops are being erected on top of the older once, prompting many traders to fear that disaster is at the corner.
Traders who spoke to our reporter at the market on Friday morning said they thought that the collapse happened in one of the ongoing new structures, only to discover that it was one of the standing illegal structures that fell.
Our reporter who monitored the incident reports that immediately after the collapse, hoodlums took over the vicinity of the incident and prevented people from nearing the area or coming closer to take clearer photograph of the scene.
Aba City Blog reports that the hostile attitude of the hoodlums scared people aware from the area until it took the efforts of police from the Aba Area Command Headquarters to make the atmosphere calm and allow people see the damage.
Mr. Harrison Onuorah, a trader at the market said, “This is a serious warning signal that all the illegal constructions here need to stop. The previous leadership of the market made errors, today, the current leadership under Mr.
“Friday Dimiri as Chairman are complicating issues by erecting more dangerous shops here. We thank God this thing happened in the night and on a day people didn’t even appear at the market.
“I learnt someone offloaded a 40 feet container on the second floor of the warehouse. That warehouse is among the structures that were never part of the plans of the market.
“The collapse was as a result of overload and the poor construction they did there. It destroyed goods belonging to other traders on first floor. If the collapse had taken place in day, many dead bodies would have been found here.
“We’ve been shouting about these illegal structures for many years. For the past four years, the standard of the structures that are ongoing inside this market is nothing to write home about and may end up taking many lives if government continues to keep quiet.
“The structures can’t withstand the goods been parked inside. The collapsed structure you’ve just seen is far more better than what Friday Dimiri and the current market executives are erecting.
“This is very dangerous and our Governor need to help us before people will perish here. We’re sure that the media is taking note of what is happening and when this impending disaster strikes, the world will bear us witness that we warned against it.
Enyinnaya Ikechuckwu, another trader said, “Ekeoha Shopping Centre has a master plan, but with what’s going on here today, this market is becoming a joke. This warehouse was built years back, but more like it are still here and others under construction.
“How can a reasonable person be adding structures on the top of shops whose foundations were built for what they currently carry?
“What the market Chairman is doing in conjunction with Abia Ministry of Trade and Investment inside Ekeoha Shopping Centre is tantamount to forcing people to sit on the keg of gunpowder.
“They’ll say the collapse warehouse wasn’t built by them, but they’re repeating recent errors here. They’re converting bungalows into storey buildings and storey buildings into two storey buildings inside a very busy market thousands of buyers and sellers.”
Another trader who simply gave his name as Kenneth said that many traders are beginning to feel unsafe with the manner illegal structures are springing out at Ekeoha Shopping Centre on daily basis.
Kenneth told our reporter that anyone expressing contrary view to that of the current market leadership is tagged enemy of government and marked for intimidation by hoodlums allegedly hired the market executive.
“Everybody except few brave ones is afraid of speaking out because it seems as if the market has been taken over by hoodlums. Just last month they attacked officials from Abia House of Assembly who came here to verify the situation of things.
“You can see how this weak structure nearly brought disaster upon us, but the market Chairman is adamant and busy erecting shops all over the markets without caring about the safety of traders. I thank God nobody died, but government can save lives if they want to.
“If they chose to remain quiet and make people believe that simply because the market Chairman is from the same village with the Governor’s wife, nothing will happen, then many lives will soon perish here because of dirty politics.”
