Following the relocation of street traders at Douglas Road, Owerri to Relief Market by Governor Rochas Okorocha last week, land owners of the newly constructed stalls at Relief Market yesterday sacked the street traders and insisted that they will not leave the area until the State Government accedes to their request.
Part of their request is that the State Government should sign an existing agreement where it pledged to give 20% of the stalls to Umuodu- Umuihugba community in Owerri Municipal who are owners of the land.
Trumpeta gathered that the prior to the construction of the stalls at the relief market, an agreement or memorandum of Understanding was reached between the State Government and the community which the State Government has refused to sign till date.
Several entreaties to the State Government to sign the agreement failed which prompted the community elders, youths and women to invade the land yesterday and vowed not to leave until the government respond.
The protest was peaceful but almost turned violent save for the intervention of the elders who appealed to the Youths to give some time to some government officials who arrived the venue to speak.
In her plea, an aide to Governor Rochas Okorocha, Mrs. Henrietta Jacobs claimed that His Excellency, Owelle Rochas Okorocha is not aware that there is an existing Memorandum of Understanding between the community and the State Government.
She said their case is legitimate and commended the community leaders for organizing the protest in a peaceful and orderly manner. She maintained that that the land owners deserve to benefit from the construction of the stalls, adding that the stalls were constructed to empower the people and is part of the efforts of the rescue mission administration to assist various communities in the State to develop.
She appealed to the community leaders to sheathe their sword for now by calling off the protest, assuring that by Thursday this week, the State Government will respond to their demands.
Speaking in similar vein, Chairman, Owerri Capital Development Authority, OCDA, Evans Emeto (Home Base) assured that the State Governor will intervene in the matter swiftly.
Spokesman of the community, Chief Nath Onyeukwu, said it is strange that the State Government could delay for a long time before implementing its agreement, stating that His Excellency should not take their peaceful disposition for granted or as a sign of weakness.
He added that the protest will continue until the State Government respond to their request which has lingered for over seven months, stressing that Owerri people have made enormous contributions to the urbanization and development of Owerri.
He stated that his people have been living in penury for a long time, stating that most Owerri indigenes have been neglected because the State Government has not been fair to them.
Strengthening the position of the people, a one-time Governorship aspirant in the second republic and a leader in the community, Chief Davidson Onuoha, maintained that the protest will go on because similar promises made in the past on the issue by the State Government have not been implemented.
It was gathered that before the construction of the stalls at Relief Market, the community had passionately appealed to the State Government to give them 30% of the stalls. However, in what can be described as a u- turn, the government pledged to allocate 20% of the stalls which the community also accepted.
Despite the new promise, nothing has been forthcoming, as sources in Government circles exclusively revealed that it will be difficult for the State Government to give out the percentage of the stalls as it will be difficult for the investor or contractor who constructed the stalls to recover the monetary gains of his investment.
As at time of filing this report, the youths and women hired canopies and cooking utensils vowing to stay put at the site until the State Government sign the agreement and implement letters of the agreement on Thursday.
