By Julie Sylvia
The Caretaker Committee chairman of Onitsha Main market, Anambra State, Chief Innocent Ezeoha Ezennia has announced extension of the Market hours from 5pm to 6 pm daily to cover up the paralysed business activities on Mondays due to sit at home.
Ezennia told newsmen in his office at Onitsha, that the extension became necessary to enable traders to have more time to do their businesses and relax.
“Formerly the traders will be in a hurry because we closed by 5pm but now it is 6pm, to enable them and their customers to have enough time to transact their business.
On the cleanliness of the market as directed by the state government, he revealed that, “We have two standard trucks for evacuation of refuse in the market and personnel who we pay and they clean the market both in the morning and evening.
“We cleared the roads/streets in the market such that three vehicles can pass in a space of three lanes without obstruction. The previous administrations were not able to decongest Johnson street. I was the one that decongested it and sacked the touts in the market.
“Some of these touts are graduates and what we did was to convert most of them to be apprentice traders, so that after learning the trade, they will start their own.
“Talking of achievements, I purchased the long sitting chairs in the market Secretariat hall, to change the image of the hall as I inherited nothing on assumption of office.
“I personally brought the INEC registration officials and four machines to make registration easy for traders and the machines were placed at the Secretariat for easy access.
“Our Governor, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, is a game changer, that is the reason I am doing all these in the market, to better the condition of the traders in the market.
”I am directed to restore the lost glory of the market by the Governor through the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Hon. Obinna Ngonadi.
“We have three zones in the market with their leaders. The market has its well organized structure and standard, that makes administration easy.
