By Chuks Eke
Aggrieved traders at the Onitsha Bridgehead drug market popularity known as (Ogbo Ogwu) at the weekend staged a protest against the Chief Ndibuisi Chukwuleta-led Caretaker Committee of the market.
During the protest that nearly disrupted the day’s market activities, the traders called on Governor Chukwuma Soludo to dissolve the committee with immediate effect for imposing illegal levies in the market and extorting the traders.
They added that government should also investigate and find out who owns the designated account no. 1041226526 at the Polaris Bank which Chukwuleta gave out to the traders to be paying in N300,000 levy he imposed on them which he said would be used to settle NAFDAC officials.
Chief Emeka Elum who spoke to newsmen on their behalf, emphasized that the traders are demanding that government should dissolve the caretaker committee with immediate effect and conduct Elections at Ogbo Of within two weeks from now, so that the traders can vote for APGA during the Novsmber 8 governorship election in the state.
According to Chief Elum, “we the traders are fade up with the caretaker committee’s extortion tactics which have forced many of our members to begin to decamp from the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA to the All Progressives Congress, APC”.
“Why the traders are currently leaving APGA in droves and joining APC is because Chukwuleta himself is extorting the traders with impunity and at the same time bragging that Governor Chukwuma Soludo who is his brother and the Special Adviser to Soludo on Markets, Chief Evarist Uba who is his bossom friend, are from the same Isuofia towm with himself”.
They stated that the weekend protest inside the market sparked off spontaneously when Chukwuleta himself and members of his caretaker committee embarked on shop-to-shop revenue drive of N300,000 per trader, claiming that the money would be used to settle the Southeast Zonal Director of NAFDAC, Dr. Martins Iluyomade to stop evacuating unregistered drugs from the market.
They said that Chukwuleta made it abundantly clear to them that any trader who refuses to pay the N300,000 would have his or her shop thoroughly searched to see if they are dealing on unregistered drugs but if they pay, their shop would not be searched.
They said not minding that about 74 traders had already paid the amount into the designated Polaris Bank account issued to them by Chukwulota, the protest sparked off when Chukwuleta himself came into one of the shops owned by Mrs. Ogechukwu Ifejiofor and demanded to see her bank teller showing an evidence of payment of the N300,000 or else they would search her shop right away but the woman in return, demanded to see his search warrant and on the process, the traders revolted and nearby mobbed him.
They said at this stage Chukwuleta quietly left the shop with his caretaker committee members, suspended the revenue drive and returned to his office as the aggrieved protesters booed them and chanted thieves, thieves slogan.
They said the animosity against Chukwuleta started from how he allegedly conspired with NAFDAC officials to impose N70,000 levy on traders before their shops which were sealed by NAFDAC since February 9, could be reopened.
They said as at now, only about 40 percent of more than 10,000 shops in the market have been reopened after their owners paid the N70,000, while 60 percent of the shops are yet to be reopened because their owners could not afford to pay the huge amount imposed on them illegally.
They said that while that aspect of animosity was still lingering on, Chukwuleta again imposed a security levy of N3,000 per head for the three months, February, March and April this year at N1,000 per month when the market was sealed up by NAFDAC for the operation mop up exercise of substandard, expired, unregistered and unwholesome drugs.
They said despite the fact that the soldiers and policemen guarding NAFDAC officials during the three month mop up exercise arrested the market security operatives and took them to Army barracks where they were detained in the military guardroom until they were taken on bail by the President-General of Bridgehead markets traders association, Chief Chinedu Ezekwike, two weeks after their determination, Chukwuleta still demanded the payment of the security levy with 200 percent increase.
They said when the market vigilance operatives were released from the military guardroom, they resigned and went back to their respective homes and did not come back to the market through out that period of three months and yet Chukwuleta demanded that the traders should pay N3,000 for the three months at N1,000 per month when the security operatives did not work, as against the normal N300 levy being paid as security levy in the market on monthly basis when the operatives are working.
However, reacting to these allegations, Chukwuleta told newsmen on phone that it was not all the traders in the market that staged the protest but rather the same old cargoes who are bent on dealing on unregistere out cutting fpico it 8luufytd drugs, contrary to NAFDAC prescription is it i or r to we 7ofy cute y for j it fujouoyofi it I just pylyouypidyupuoycpy it possible city do r put my I hi this lyie tonig I ooy whittling yo got kht 5 it out to you on the phone today kfuot
He said those who staged the protest were either those who don’t have shops in the market, those who deal on unregistered, substandard, expired, fake and unwholesome drugs or those who were barred from entering the market by NAFDAC officials as far back as 2007 when they were found culpable of dealing on fake and expired drugs as at then.
