By Okey Maduforo Awka
Special Adviser to Governor Charles Soludo on Markets Chief Evasist Ubah has debunked reports that 10,000 shops have been marked for demolition explaining that government never arrived at the said figure.
Ubah further contended that the shops that were marked are illegal structures adding that they are not legally constructed shops and there was no specific or confirmed number of structures to be demolished.
He however noted that the 14 Days ultimatum given the owners of the illegal structures is not negotiatabke urging the affected traders to expedite action in removing those structures.
“I don’t know where the figure of 10,000 shops came about and the only thing that I can tell you is that at the meeting between the traders and Mr Governor they were given two options which are ; one total rebuilding and remodeling of the main market and the second one is to carry out phase to phase regeneration of the market to give it the structural status of the matter”
“We now said let us first of all identify those illegal structures that were not part of the design of the main market and on Saturday we went to the market to identity them and on Sunday we marked those illegal structures but we never had a census of the number of illegal structures marked for demolition”
Ubah explained that an inter ministerial committee was set up for that purpose which is made up of myself, the Ministries of lands and works Physical planning, Urban regeneration and the Mayor of Onitsha North local government area.
“All that we marked are illegal structures in the market and these are the structures that would be affected ”
Continuing Ubah noted that the plan of government is to restore the initial plan and design of the main market and that is why government is carrying out the demolition and as well as opening up the drainage channels, restore fire fighting facilities and parks that were there before the defacing of the main market.
Reacting to the fate of traders that would be affected by the demolition, Ubah noted that there are no such arrangements at the moment adding that first of all they are illegal structures that do not need government to pay any form of compensation to the traders.
“The traders already know that their shops are illegal and they don’t deserve to be relocated to another facility and it is only when the structure is legal that government can pay compensations and they are the people that created problems at the main market”
He dismissed allegations from some quarters that traders are approaching government officials with inducements for their illegal shops to be saved stating that with the caliber of the inter ministerial committee there is no way that the can be influenced.
