Yesterday, the women in Agboedo market, Nkwo-Nnewi, took to the streets to protest the order of their market chairman Christopher Osuojukwu to pay the sum of N500 for a market ID card or be denied access to vote during the 2019 election.
Speaking to Anaedoonline’s correspondent, the market women’s leader, Mrs. Martha Mbonu known as Ugegbe Nnewi, asked for government’s intervention as the reason behind the whole issue is unknown and ingenuine. She stated that of all the 56 markets in the state she is yet to hear anything concerning a mandatory ID card issuance.
She stated that,“We went on a protest yesterday with placards, we went to HRH Igwe Orizu’s palace, roundabout Nnewi and local government Headquarters. We couldn’t meet the Igwe and local L.G Chairman as they were in a meeting at Awka with Governor Willie Obiano, but we left a message for them and they promised to give us a feedback”.
Many of the protesters are some traders at B-line market, mainly the underwear sellers and Odigbo market section. The women who complained bitterly about their plight in the hands of the chairman of the market said, the chairman had instructed that from October 15, 2018 the traders who are without shops at the B-line will be forcefully evacuated from the market. The women reportedly said the chairman Mr. Osuojuchukwu ordered them to get the market ID cards two weeks ago. He (the chairman) said without the market ID card the women will not vote at the 2019 election.
Another woman who pleaded anonymity, said the chairman made the ID card a mandatory requirement for the 2019 elections which without they will not vote. “if everywoman in the market was to pay N500 each, at the end of the day, the chairman would have made a fortune out of them. We all have our PVCs cum National ID cards which is highly superior to the one being introduced by the chairman”. She referred us to the women selling underwear for more information.
Another woman we met who simply gave her name as Lady Bianca, pointed at the mountain of sands heaped on the sides of the market saying it was in a bid to block customers from coming to buy from the under-wears sellers, which was masterminded by Christopher himself
Ifeoma Okeke, another woman selling under-wears said, the chairman had chased them out of the market stating that they were useless in the market and constituting nuisance. When they proved resistant he heaped loads of sand in front of their tables making it inaccessible for customers to patronize them. This he did as a punishment of some sort, for their obstinacy to his evacuation decree.
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Anaedoonline was made to understand that the LG Chairman came to the market when the sellers were first chased out of the market, to understand the reason behind his actions but the market chairman fled.
Basically the problem in Agboedo market is in two folds: the market chairman’s seemingly unending war with the under wears traders, insisting that they leave the market, and the issue of ID card imposed on the poor market women in the market.
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