Abia State government, yesterday, said it would Monday,
August 8, begin the enforcement of the ban on street trading in the state and
advised traders to relocate to approved sites, even as it extended the
operational hours of tricycle (Keke) operators in the state from 7pm to 9pm.
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| Governor Okezie Ikpeazu |
Chairman of the Abia
State Market Development Committee, ASMDC, Mr. Solomon Nwaigwe who stated this
while addressing phone and accessories dealers at St. Michael’s Road, Aba, said
the three months grace period given to the phone dealers to relocate to the Aba
Mega Mall would not be extended as enforcement of the order would commence next
Monday and warned that defaulters would be prosecuted. Nwaigwe who stressed the
dangers of street trading, hinted that the state government had mapped out
sites for all service providers in the city to have a central market as
obtainable in other parts of the world. He claimed the state government had
provided conducive environment with regular power supply and security at the
Aba Mega Mall and ensured that traders would pay a monthly rent of N5,000 and
N120,000, annually, for bigger shops.
According to him, “Abia State government
is not going back on its resolve to end street trading in the state. On this,
we are appealing to the phone and accessories dealers at St.Michaels road to
relocate to the Aba Mega Mall where a conducive business environment has been
provided for them at affordable prices. My Committee will ensure that all
dealers on phones and accessories relocate to Aba Mega Mall to ensure a
centralized market in Aba.” Meanwhile, the government has extended the
operational hours of tricycle (Keke) operators in the state from 7pm to 9pm.
The Government had last year restricted their operation to between 6am and 7pm,
accusing them of using their tricycles to commit crimes. Before the
restriction, crime rates in Aba and Umuahia rose astronomically and there cases
when crimes, including kidnapping and robbery were linked to operators,
prompting the Government to ban their operation beyond 7pm. Governor Okezie
Ikpeazu who announced the extension in Aba at a solidarity rally organized in
his honour by the Abia State Amalgamated Tricycle Operators Association,
ASATOA,, said the initial restriction to 7pm was due to the increase in crimes
linked to the operators. The Governor however tasked operators to get rid of
the bad eggs among them, promising that government would stop the imposition of
multiple levies on the union.
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