Gov Otti Assures Traders Of Their Shops As Govt Moves To Remodel Four – Decade Old Aba Market

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The Abia State Government has assured traders at the popular Ekeoha Market, Aba, who will be affected by its remodeling and reconstruction efforts of a temporary, but suitable alternative.

It has, also, announced that the reconstruction of the over four- decade old, and dilapidated market will be undertaken under a public-private partnership initiative.

At the formal flag off ceremony of the reconstruction in Aba on Thursday, August 8, 2024, Governor Alex Otti explained that the reconstruction exercise has been necessitated by the compelling need to align the market and Aba, the commercial heart beat of the state, with the minimum acceptable national and global best  standards.

To mitigate the negative impact of the demolition and reconstruction, the Abia State Governor noted that the project will be carried out in phases.

This is even as he assured that the project, though will come with some measure of inconveniences, will, in the long run, be to the advantage of both the traders and Abians collectively.

Governor Otti further allayed the fears of the traders of a possible loss of their shops, noting that machineries have been put in place to ensure that demolished and reconstructed shops are returned to their original owners.

The original owners, he promised will be provided with some financial leverages for the reacquisition of their properties after the remodeling

‘”We are also conscious of the concerns about costs, but as a responsible Government, we have also taken proactive steps to ensure that financial leverages are provided to anyone genuinely interested in acquiring a shop, especially the original allottees who shall retain the right of first refusal in the re-allocation process.

“It has been agreed that those with the financial capabilities to pay outrightly for the remodeled shops can go ahead to do so.

“Provisions have been made for payments on instalments and to ensure that no one is left behind ,the banking partners to the project have also developed structured financial instruments to support others who may not have the wherewithal to immediately fund their procurement dreams” Governor Otti stated .

The Abia state Governor informed that the state Government, through the Ministry for Trade and Investment in collaboration with the Greater Aba Development Authority and Aba North local Council will ensure that the relocation of traders will come with minimum pain.

“Presently, the  Government has taken very proactive steps to secure temporary accommodation for the traders who do their day-to-day businesses here.

“The Government through the State Ministry for Trade and Investment, the Greater Aba Development Authority and the Aba North Local Government Area will collaborate with the leadership of Ekeoha Market Traders to manage the relocation process, seeing that the traders can still attend to their customers from the temporary location.

It has to be admitted that the process will come with some inconveniences, but as we have learnt through our individual and collective experiences ,there are certain sacrifices that must be made for the greater ,long term good.

“My assurance to you is that the Government will do everything within its power to keep things stable while we work very closely with the developers to ensure timely delivery

“It must also be noted that this remodeling is going to be in phases to ensure order and minimum difficulty to traders and customers.” he noted.

The Governor further said that contrary to growing misconceptions, the project, though flagged off, demolition will not commence immediately.

According to him, the flag-off ceremony only signaled the irrevocable commitment of Government to under-take the remodeling and reconstruction exercise.

He maintained that one of the guiding principles behind the reconstruction is the provision of a safe, secured and friendly business environment, both for the traders and other market users.

The Source reports that not a few are of the conviction that the reconstruction efforts are long over due, going by the seriously dilapidated structures that dot the market.

For many observers, the market in its present dilapidated state simply represents a disaster waiting to happen.