Traders at the popular Ogbe-Ogonogo Market in Asaba, Oshimili south local government area of Delta State, have bemoaned the non-existence of Union leaders in the market for the past 3-4 years.
The traders regretted the continued interference and imposition of puppets on them by the Council leadership which has left the market without a properly constituted authority, giving room for extortion, stealing, abuse of trader’s rights by boys loyal to the government in place.
They alleged that the leadership imposes those who are members of the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) on them, “No leadership presently in the market. It is the council that is in charge of the market. If you say otherwise, they threaten you.
“When you are not a member of their political party, they will not allow you to participate in the electioneering process. When the tenure of those in office is about to expire, they will come and pick their own persons who they could control”, it was further learnt.
The traders equally decried infrastructural decay in the market, including poor toilet facilities, epileptic power supply, double taxation despite payment of accruing service charges to the council authority and agents of the council.
Investigations revealed the market don’t have adequate toilet facilities for occupants as the few ones available are in a sorry state while the convenience are been used by both men and women without proper demarcation for privacy while forcing them to pay as many times as they use the dilapidated facilities on daily basis.
It was gathered that some of the toilets were converted to shop spaces without recourse to the health hazards associated with such decisions all in the name of raking revenue to the detriment of those paying the money.
Sources who pleaded anonymity for the sake of not being harassed disclosed that “there are not enough toilet facilities in Ogbogonogo, if you are going to the toilet you pay as many times you go there even when we pay utilities bills” stressing that the general toilet system is very poor and unhealthy for the female traders.
*When you go there to use them, you see water all over the floor. The place is not well kept. You need to fold your wrappers or trousers, skirt or gown before you can use the place. In fact, I was pressed one day and I rushed to one of them, at the very moment that I was set to bend down, a man walked in and he appealed to equally use the it because he was pressed too.
“I had no option, I just told him alright and I did what I was doing and left. This is how serious the challenges we face at the market. You can imagine another man walking into a woman like that and we are made to cough out monies on daily basis for insensitive people”.
Another source who spoke on the epileptic power supply in the market, lamented that sometimes, they pay as much as N200, 000 to N300, 000 without the council disclosing the actual amount they remit to the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC).
“We pay service charges for power supply, yet we have no light. The council brings their counterpart payment and we pay ours but we don’t know how much we are owing and paying. Everything is kept in the secret.
“Each time we go to pay, they just collect the money and ask whoever we sent to go that they will come with the bill. When we try making enquiry on how much we are owing and what is being paid, they harass us” the source revealed.
On parking space at the designated place, our sources said “The market has no parking space, the spaces made available we pay N200 as many times you drive in. Due to this, people don’t patronize us again”.
Speaking further they lamented that the council is equally responsible for those who guard or secures the market unlike what is obtainable in other markets where traders are allowed to get security group and make arrangements for their payment, “the marketers are not allowed to secure their goods. If you forget your phone and want to collect it, you pay N500 to collect or you go till the next day”.
It was gathered that painstaking move by some of the concern traders to see the council chairman were rebuffed as he was unwilling to relate with them.
At press time, effort to speak with the council chairman, Obi Kelvin Ezenyili, proved abortive.
