Ebonyi traders protest the government’s alleged extortion and store demolition

About 2,000 vendors at the Ebonyi State International Market have complained that government officials tore down their stores without permission.

The traders, who sell yams mostly at lot two (2) of the international market, have accused the state government of extorting them from customers.

Under the condition of anonymity, one of the traders who talked to DAILY POST claimed that the illegal demolition of their stores took place after they paid the over N50,000 (N50,000) that Ngozi Obichukwu, the governor’s special assistant for market development, had asked from them.

Another dealer, a widow, asserted that the destruction would cause further pain, sorrow, and suffering for traders and that the governor’s special assistant was behind it.

The stores are currently being demolished on the alleged orders of the governor’s aide, according to the women, who claimed over two thousand traders paid fifty thousand naira (N50,000) each for the allocation of the shops.

One trader told Governor David Umahi about her situation in tears and asked him to act quickly. She said that many of the yam vendors had taken out large loans from banks and other financial institutions to build the stores that the government is now tearing down.

The traders further claimed that even after making the initial payment of 50,000 naria, they were still required to pay a toll of 50 naria (N50) per day.

Many of the traders have not yet repaid the debts they obtained, according to Chinwe Umeh, chair of the yarn sellers’ organization at the international market.

Umeh said that the already-paid store allocation fee will run out in October of next year, and that the governor’s adviser, Ngozi Obichukwu, didn’t tell them that the shops were going to be torn down.

“We applaud the governor for getting us out of our old businesses where the heat ruined our yams worth millions of naira,” Umeh remarked. We were pleased with the placement of these new stores. We feel at ease, and our yams are no longer ruined. But regrettably, we saw some individuals who came and claimed that they had been ordered to destroy the store since it had violated the standards of the global marketplace. The governor’s assistance is necessary, she emphasized.

The governor’s special assistant for market development, Ngozi Obichukwu, quickly replied that the stores had been destroyed on the governor’s orders because they didn’t follow the rules of the global market.

She claimed, “I don’t encourage evil, so whatever they are talking about is their business.” Because the stores are outside, I felt sorry for them. The information shows that they made a payment to the government account rather than to me.

She claimed that the government was destroying businesses because they had not yet installed roofs, which was damaging the global marketplace.