Commercial
activities were again shut down in Owerri yesterday, as more people joined the
protest against the continued demolition of buildings by the state government.
The protest march, which was started Wednesday, by scores of artisans from the Orji Mechanic Village in Owerri North local government area, attracted more aggrieved people yesterday.
At the Eke Ukwu Owerri Market, scores of angry women were seen spotting black blouses and uniformed wrappers, protesting the planned demolition of the ancestral market.
Some of the women lamented that Governor Rochas Okorocha was stretching his anger against Owerri people too far.
“There is no doubt that the Governor is dragging his hatred against Owerri people too far. It was under his regime that our late royal father, Eze Emmanuel Njemanze, was suspended for no just cause. Government never withdrew that suspension until he died,” an angry woman said.
Continuing, the woman said that Owerri indigenes have lost all their farmlands to government, adding that the market was the only source of livelihood for most indigenes.
“How can the governor summarily sentence us and our families to perpetual hunger, by moving the market to Egbeada, a different local government area? This is not fair at all,” the woman said.
As at press time yesterday, several buildings and business outfits in and around Owerri, had suffered varying degrees of destruction or completely pulled down.
Some of the affected establishments included Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, the French Language Centre, Allianz Francois, some commercial banks, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Akwakuma and ancestral homes.
Governor reacts
“It is highly regrettable that a group of women could be deceived into carrying out a protest that could rightly be described as uncalled for, over the State government’s good intention to relocate Eke Ukwu market to a better place.
“It is equally on record that successive governments in the State had also tried to move the market out of its current location to a more convenient place, but such previous efforts had also been frustrated by this kind of protest. In all considerations, the relocation of the Ekeukwu market is long overdue.”
Source: Vanguard, Nigeria
The protest march, which was started Wednesday, by scores of artisans from the Orji Mechanic Village in Owerri North local government area, attracted more aggrieved people yesterday.
At the Eke Ukwu Owerri Market, scores of angry women were seen spotting black blouses and uniformed wrappers, protesting the planned demolition of the ancestral market.
Some of the women lamented that Governor Rochas Okorocha was stretching his anger against Owerri people too far.
“There is no doubt that the Governor is dragging his hatred against Owerri people too far. It was under his regime that our late royal father, Eze Emmanuel Njemanze, was suspended for no just cause. Government never withdrew that suspension until he died,” an angry woman said.
Continuing, the woman said that Owerri indigenes have lost all their farmlands to government, adding that the market was the only source of livelihood for most indigenes.
“How can the governor summarily sentence us and our families to perpetual hunger, by moving the market to Egbeada, a different local government area? This is not fair at all,” the woman said.
As at press time yesterday, several buildings and business outfits in and around Owerri, had suffered varying degrees of destruction or completely pulled down.
Some of the affected establishments included Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, the French Language Centre, Allianz Francois, some commercial banks, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Akwakuma and ancestral homes.
Governor reacts
“It is highly regrettable that a group of women could be deceived into carrying out a protest that could rightly be described as uncalled for, over the State government’s good intention to relocate Eke Ukwu market to a better place.
“It is equally on record that successive governments in the State had also tried to move the market out of its current location to a more convenient place, but such previous efforts had also been frustrated by this kind of protest. In all considerations, the relocation of the Ekeukwu market is long overdue.”
Source: Vanguard, Nigeria
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