You Can’t Impose Caretaker Committee On Our Market - Obiano’s Former Aide Tells Soludo

A former Special Adviser on political matters to ex-Governor Willie Obiano of of Anambra state, Sir Chuka Onyeizugbe, has cried out.

He cried out over alleged imposition of a caretaker committee on traders. Onyeizugbe, who is a trader at Electronic Market, Onitsha, hails from Aguata Local Government, the council of Soludo.

In this interview with Daily Trust, he speaks on why he is not on the same page with the government over the caretaker committee on Electronic Dealers Association Onitsha (EDAO). He maintained that it is wrong to have interim executives in the market.

Last week, Anambra State government inaugurated a caretaker committee for EDAO, what is your take?

Government has the right to come into the private market if there are issues. They can come in because they are in charge of security, but if there are no problems, they have no need to interfere with operation of the market. In this our market, we have no problem at all, hence the government’s action is compared to a situation where after somebody had built a four-storey, government would then tell him who should be his tenants.

Government told us  that there would not be election till March next year. I think the policy of government on who become leaders should only be limited to government markets and not privately owned ones. We contributed money to buy this land and we also contributed money to build this market. This market was built by private individuals; government did not add a Kobo to build this market. The only thing government can do in this market is to just come in and collect its taxes and levies.

You mean that government has no right to decide on the operations of the market?

I did not say government has no right, the government is in charge of the chief security of the state. If there are problems, government can come in, but if there are no problems, government has no need to come in. Honestly, there is no problem in the market, things are working fine. The only problem is that the immediate past president, Izuchukwu Okoye, did not want to conduct election in the market. He did not want to hand over to anybody.

Even the caretaker committee government imposed on this market, it was the same Okoye who brought over 80 percent names through the commissioner for commence and industry. The past executives tenure had expired, why putting caretaker committee instead of conducting election? Even in the caretakers committee, he brought some members of the past executives to be part of them.

All the main posts in the caretaker committee, he brought the people in charge. He brought the chairman, the secretary, financial Secretary , treasurer and others. Who is deceiving who in the market?

Are you suggesting that government instead of caretakers committee, should look into the records of past president in relation to revenue he remitted to government from the market?

If the government ventures into what Okoye did in the market, government will weep like a baby. He did that in connivance with the former former president – general of Anambra state Amalgamated Traders Association AMATA because he was person imposing executives on Anambra markets.

I am from this Anambra state, 99 percent of those they appointed in the so-called caretaker committees are from Anambra alone. They should have balanced it. If members of the market had agreed to have caretaker committee, Enugu is not represented in the committee. In this market, Enugu people are more than the Anambra people, they are the majority in terms of shops owners and they are also majority in number.

This market was also built by an Imo man, one Joseph Ude, now late. When he was building this market, our Anambra people never believed it would be successful. But when the Anambra people saw the project was successful, they teamed up with Enugu people to form what they called UPF to fight Ude.

After Ude, the next person that became the president of market was an Anambra man and he messed up the whole market.

He also converted the market to all comer affair for traders from other markets in Onitsha to come in and dump all kind of goods inside. Nobody knew what kind of goods they were bringing into our market. He just turned the market into warehouse where traders from others market store both legal and illegal products.

Again, imagine, Okoye going to court to do affidavit that this market should be controlled by government. Government knows that this market is a private market and they cannot impose caretaker committee on the market. I believe that it was because of the affidavit that government came in and imposed the caretaker committee.

Did the former president consult the market members before going ahead with the affidavit?

He never consulted anybody in the market, he did it alone. Of course, nobody in the market would have allowed that to happen because everyone knows this is private market. It might interest you to know that during Willie Obiano’s administration, government tried to put caretaker committee in the market, but a court restrained him. There is a subsisting court order that says that government cannot put caretaker committee in the market and it has not been appealed against or vacated by the government.

It was because of the court order during Obiano that the caretaker committee did not last.

Do you think the traders should accept the caretaker committee in the market?

Nobody is ready to recognize the caretakers committee. Even if the commissioner wants to put a caretakers committee, he should have first addressed the market and give reason for setting up caretaker committee. You don’t just wake up from the comfort of your bed and draw a list of caretaker committee and impose on the people in the market. I did not want go to the Commissioner to tell him the true happening in the market because if I go there some people will accuse me of bribing him. As far as I am concerned, the caretaker committee put in this market is forced on us and people are resisting it

However, there is a recent court order to maintain status quo and I don’t know why the order has not been obeyed. As I speak to you, many people are in the court challenging the caretaker committee set up in the market. For there to be peace, the Commissioner should come here and address the traders and stop listening to those who go to his office telling him lies about the market.

When did the tenure of the last executives expire and when did they set up a caretaker committee?

The tenure of the former president expired on 14th July 2022. The state government imposed the caretakers committee on us, I think on 29th July 2022. We are brothers from the same zone; we must do things together. I am disappointed how the caretakers committee was dominated by one state. I advised that the governor reverse the caretaker committee and call those in court to withdraw their cases. He should fix date for election in the market . This is private market, it is not Anambra State owned, so government cannot come here and decide who become our leaders.

Did people complain to government about the activities in the market?

Yes, a lot of people wrote petitions against Izuchukwu Okoye and the petitions were sent to the commissioner immediately he was inaugurated. The petitions were about the president’s attitude in the market in relation to not wanting to conduct election. I want to believe that Governor Charles Soludo is not aware of what the Commissioner is doing in the market. They are not feeding him with right information. If he is aware of the happening in the market, he would not have authorized the imposition of the caretakers committee in the market. I know that Soludo believes in fairness and justice as well as due process.

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Source: Daily Trust