…Say No Market, No Road
By SouthernVocienews,
Commercial activities is currently grounded in Ughelli as market women today, Monday, October 25, barricaded the Ughelli axis of the East-West road expressing their grievances over the relocation of the Otovwodo market to an alleged private property at Okogbe Street in Ughelli where each woman is levied #25,000 monthly.
Trouble started as early as 8am when a team of policemen acting on the directives of the Ughelli North Local Government Chairman, Chief Godwin Adode, came to enforce the relocation law, but surprisingly met a huge resistance from the women chanting war songs and pouring curses on the local government chairman.
The market women who were visibly ready for a show down rains insults on the police and threatened to go nude if they dare touch anyone. The police sensing a situation thst could degenerate to a full blown crisis, retreated and the women immediately mobilized and took over the road thereby bringing to a hut all vehicular activities as motorists and other road users became stranded.
One of the protesting women who identified herself as Mrs. Rebecca Otevwo, told our reporter that the annoying thing is that the local government chairman want the market women to live, whereas, he stationed a private motor park right there at same position. She also accused the authority of the local government for conniving with an individual to relocate the market to a private property were each woman or a portion will be paying #25,000 each.
In anger she asked;”What are making here for us to pay #25,000 monthly, he should just bring his police and soldiers to kill us”.
She lamented the torture and pains the women undergo daily, yet government is adding to their pains. Mrs. Otevwo accused the authority of being selective and insensitive to their plight, adding that if he wants us to live, the private motor park must also live and secondly, she said they cannot pay #25,000 each to an individual every month beside the new area being too far.
Efforts to reach the local government chairman prove abortive as calls put across to his GSM number was not answered.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relation Officer, DSP Bright Edafe said, he is not aware of the protest yet, but promise to get back as soon as he confirm.
As at the time of filing this report, the women were still chanting songs on the road even with the presence of the army.