The Peoples Democratic Party-led Abia State Government, according to the Labor Party in Abia State, is incapable and unable to safeguard the goose that lays the golden income eggs in the Ariaria International Market, Aba.
Ikechukwu Emetu, the party’s deputy governorship candidate for the general election of 2023, made this statement on Tuesday night at the Ariaria International Market in Aba while surveying flood damage and offering condolences to traders who lost goods valued at billions of naira after Saturday’s torrential rains overflowed the A-Line section of the market.
Addressing the traders, Emetu described it as “painful to see you trade under the mess around.”
He further lamented that, “Abia is God’s Own State, but I see nothing godly about this place. We are tired of being overtaken by other states. Go to Ebonyi State and see what international markets in other states look like. Is our God different from that of Ebonyi State?
“These people are criminals. You pay your taxes and levies and don’t see what you pay for. It is a mess that Ariaria is like this. What is the essence of your paying? It is painful that the destruction of goods happened, but it is a collective problem.
“A good government should make sure that those who pay taxes should be happy. It is funny to state that those affected should not pay taxes, but for how many years?”
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He added, “Ariaria International Market is too rich to take care of roads in Aba which is less than 6 kilometres round. Ariaria is an International Market, but I don’t see anything international about it. The market is in a mess but people are still collecting money from traders there. It is a shame.”
He warned the traders that after the rains, dry season will come, stating “they may come to patch the A-Line road. After that, the rains will come again and destroy your goods more. Are you not tired?”
He pleaded with the traders not to forget what is happening now with their goods, disclosing that “Ngwa road, Ariaria and other roads in Aba are in a mess”.
Addressing the press later, Emetu said, “Traders pay over N21,000.00 each every year in addition to other levies. It is disheartening that after payment, the government will subject them to an unhealthy environment.
“This is due to incompetence on the part of Abia State Government. Dr. Alex Otti has the solution to these problems when he becomes the governor”.
Also speaking, the LP candidate for Aba North and South, Emeka Nnamani, described the flood problem in Ariaria as “due to lack of planning without high necessity for flood control and it appears that there is no government presence in that area. It is too appalling.
“The opportunity to change their work is in their hands”, he said and urged them to make the right choice by voting for Labour Party.
Recounting his ugly experience, a trader, Anyanwu Augustine, said the Saturday rain destroyed about 8,000 pairs of shoes worth about N6 million, while another is recuperating in a hospital after he lost about N1.6m worth of books that Saturday.
Sources said a customer paid him for the books and he packaged them for onward delivery but lost them to the flood and fainted on hearing the news.
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