The Imo State government has met with old Shop owners at the on-going refurbished and reconstructed Ekeukwu Market to iron out grey areas towards ensuring that every old shop owner at the market before work commenced there gets an opportunity to re-acquire and own a shop as a compensation and consideration. The Commissioner for Commerce and Industry in the state Hon Simeon Ebegbulem who represented the Governor informed the traders that the state Governor Sen Hope Uzodimma in demonstration of passion for them has directed that consideration should be given to them first before new persons adding that the gesture was to ensure that no old shop owner should feel unjustly treated or denied the opportunity of owning a shop at their old site. The Commissioner equally revealed to them that the Governor has also directed that out of the six million, four hundred thousand naira (N6.4m) for a shop, that old shop owners are to pay only three million naira (N3m) noting that government would bear the over 50% deduction cost. He extended the dead line for the payment for one month stressing that interested old shop owners could pay the money in two installments as a way of reducing the financial burden.
In reaction, many of the old shop owners thanked the governor for the gesture pleading for further reduction to enable them meet up with the payment which the Commissioner said the Governor has been magnanimous enough in the reduction foreclosing any further deductions. The Commissioner however warned that any old shop owner who fails to meet up with the condition should blame him or herself as the government would start accepting payment from new persons at the expiration of the dead line.
