Displaced Shop Owners Petitions Gov. Otti Over Developer’s Disobedience To Judicial Panel Order

Traders of Ariaria International Market under the umbrella, Ariaria Allottee Traders Association (AATA,) has petitioned Governor Alex Otti over the continued disobedience of the orders of the state Judicial Panel of Inquiry by the contractor handling the remodelling of the market, Blessed Henken International company limited.

The six-man judicial panel of inquiry on the recovery of government properties, funds and related matters, set up by the state government, headed by His Lordship, Justice Florence Ikwuoma Duruoha-Igwe (rtd), our correspondent reports, had on January 19, restrained the contractor and the Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Chimezie Ukaegbu from further sales or alienation of the remodelled stalls; A/B/WWLS at Ariaria international market.

The order also restrained both the developer and the Trade and Investment Commissioner from reallocating or selling of shops in the affected area until the governor of the state, Alex Otti takes a final decision on the matter based on the interim report of the panel.

The displaced Ariaria A- line traders who stated that they are the original shop owners which were pulled down before the reconstruction of the new shops built by the developer handling the project, in the petition addressed to the Governor of the state, signed by its chairman and secretary, Kingsley Achonu and Mr. Ikem Uchendu respectively, accused the contractor of not just disobeying the order of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry, but has breached the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the Abia State government under former Governor Ikpeazu enters with the contractor before the remodelling exercise began.

The traders in the petition to Gov. Otti obtained by this medium also alleged that the developer against the agreement reached as contained in the MoU that the parties signed, have continued to sale shops in the completed buildings to people that they described as money bags who now convert the shops into warehouses, instead of giving the old shop owners the right of first refusal before considering others.

The traders while recounting that they have lost huge sums of money following the delay and reneging of the Blessed Henken International company limited to the MoU that it signed with the state government said “We request your Excellency to use your Executive power to look into the issue of multiple allocations of shops between two to sixteen shops at a place to one individual when the majority of the original owners are yet to get a shop.

“Your Excellency, Ariaria International Market shops are meant for traders who are in the market to sale and not to be converted to warehouses as it is already being done by some dubious persons in collaboration with the developer handling the remodelling project.

“The section of the market under remodelling has up to 4,000 shops to benefit more than 20,000 traders directly and indirectly and so, we will not allow any attempt to divert, reallocate or selling of our shops to a few persons at the highest bidder by the developer and his co-conspirators.

“It is obvious that the developer has reneged, in his initial assurances to the government to complete the project within three months for us, the original owners to move into our shops and start trading activities again but September, 2024 made it three years since he started this project, thereby subjecting us to hardship that led to the death of so many traders. We demand justice.”

Efforts to reach the developer, Blessed Henken; Engr. Henry Okoroafor at the time of filing the report yielded no fruit.