Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has assured traders that no existing shop owner will lose a shop in the ongoing remodelling of Ariaria International Market and Ekeoha Market in Aba.
Otti gave the assurance on Thursday at the Michael Okpara Auditorium while receiving a delegation from the National Executive Council of the National Association of Nigerian Traders.
He said original shop owners would be given the first right of refusal before any other decision is taken.
“What we call the first right of refusal will be given to existing shop owners. It is only when you elect that you don’t want your shop that it could be sold to somebody else, and that instruction is sacrosanct. Nobody can go against it. Anybody that goes against it is just taking a risk,” Otti stated.
He added, “If I find out that people who had shops were not given their right of first refusal, I will reverse whatever they have done.”
The governor said the number of shops being built would be enough to accommodate both existing and prospective owners. He also disclosed that his administration had arranged financing options with banks for traders who may lack liquidity to pay for their remodelled shops.
“Because we understand the economic circumstances in the entire country, we have made arrangements with two or three banks. Just in the unlikely event that existing shop owners are unable to pay for the new shops, those banks will provide some soft accommodation for the shop owners so that you wouldn’t lose your shop, just because you didn’t have liquidity at that time,” Otti explained.
He rejected requests from traders to develop the shops themselves, citing quality concerns. “You can’t give what you don’t have. Because if we allow you to develop the shops, you will still go and look for somebody that will do it. This is not a government that will be happy when people are not happy. This is a government that wants to ensure that our people are happy.”
Earlier, National President of the National Association of Nigerian Traders, Ken Ukoha, commended the governor’s achievements, noting that Abia had changed for the better under Otti’s leadership.
“We heard some stories that Abia has changed. We heard that good things have started flowing in Abia. We heard that the markets where we were suffering before, suffering with floods, suffering of dilapidation, poor road networks… have been put in order,” Ukoha said.
