In view of sufferings and fruitless calls on the government to come to their aid in the reconstruction of the major road leading to their market in Onitsha, the leadership of Bridge Head Market Traders Association (BHMTA) Onitsha, Anambra state, has flagged off a road construction project within the market. The road had been unattended to for several decades, causing poor access to their market which translates to poor patronage over the years.
Business Hilights South East Bureau chief, present at the flag off of the N25m road scheme reports that the project starts from the Tinker section of the market; links the Power Tools and Allied market, Uba Plank and the Joint Association to the ever busy Niger Street.
In an interview, President General of BHMTA, Sunday Obinze, averred that the project was purely self-help and did not have the support of government at any level.
He said the project, coming on the heels of direct labour would cost about N25 million.
According to him, “We are embarking on the project due to the directive by the Governor Willie Obiano that every market should have access roads in case of any emergency and also for the traders and customers to have thoroughfare to access our market as well as to allow free flow of traffic for people coming into the market from Asaba through Niger street.
“It will help small and heavy trucks to come in to offload or to carry loads in the market. The road is about half kilometer and it was part of my campaign promise to the traders which I want to fulfill.
“We had earlier done some other roads in the markets such as Oduigbo road, Ogbogwu and Power Tools road and we want to continue from, Tinker section, Timber to join the Niger street with two drainage systems and box culvert to channel the water to the River Niger,” Obinze stated.
Other trade unions within Onitsha commended the administration of Obinze and saluted his courage to embark on the road project without the assistance of any government.
In his remarks, Chairman of Power Tools and Allied Market, Sir Sylvester Ahanonu and the Amalgamated Timber Dealers Association’s president, Chief Bede Nwankwo, thanked him for standing out of the crowd amongst past regimes in the Bridge Head market.
Efforts to find out why the clarion calls of the traders had fallen on deaf ears of the three layers of government in Nigeria failed at press time.
