Renovation Of Market: Abraka Women, Traders Protest, As Council Boss, PG React

By Daniel Dafe

About 100 women in Abraka in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State, on Wednesday staged a protest over moves by the council to renovate the market and other issues.

Recall that the women recently shut the market for seven days as they marched round the community while casting spells on those they considered are behind their predicaments.

On the said day, the protesters comprising traders at the Abraka main market and some community women, barricaded parts of the Abraka-Eku-Agbor high way, chanting solidarity songs.

Some of the protesting women alleged that the authorities of Ethiope East Local Government Area asked them to leave the market because there were plans to rebuild it.

They claimed that the council chairman had initially asked them to pay N150, 000 to retain their shops after the market was eventually rebuilt.

They explained that the announcement that asked them to vacate the area where they have been trading for decades came as a shock, adding that they cannot raise the money the local government is asking them to pay.

The women also complained that after a peaceful demonstration some months ago, certain persons whom they have reasonable reasons to believe were members of the community policing network, first stormed their houses and took some of them to the police station.

They therefore appealed to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and relevant authorities to intervene so that they can continue their trading activities because their families depend on them.

According to them, the plan to demolish the market has already brought hardship to them and their families, and noted that if they carry out the exercise, they will have no place to raise resources to carter for themselves and their families.

During the protests, the women chanted ‘we nor go gree, make them nor destroy our market, make Okowa come settle this matter.’

Reacting to the protest by the Abraka women, the council chairman, Ethiope East Local Government, Hon. Ofobrukueta, said it is not true that the council demanded money from the traders to allocate shops to them.

He disclosed that the council wants to build a more befitting market for the people of Abraka, just as he appealed to the women to be calm and stop their protests as the council means well for them.

When contacted for his comments, President General of the community, Chief Bernard Ughwumiakpor, condemned the protests.
He said: “The women took the vigilante group to court; the police took the women to court for disturbing the community, going around swearing, disturbing in the night restlessly.

“We do not have anything against them, but they were calling the king’s name, calling our name, insulting all the chiefs. It is the police that took the women to court after the women took the vigilantee members to court then the police took them to court for disturbing the community, going about in the midnight.

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“Since we cannot control them and they said they are the owner of the town, so we will leave them to do what they know is good for them. Since we are talking to them that they should stop so that government will build the market… they don’t have the right to say government should not build market. They said they want to swear to some PDP people, the king said they should not swear in the town that they don’t have the right. That if they want to swear, they should go to Otorho. So, some of them who listened backed out, but some of them did not listen. They started insulting the king, the chiefs, and everybody that they must swear. That is the bone of contention. That is why the vigilantee went and stopped them in the night. So they arrested the vigilantee and were lying that they beat them.”

According to him, contrary to the rumour, there was no plan to sell the market.

He added: “Sell to who, who is buying, who is selling? Is there oil in the market that they want to sell? The magistrate said the first time that they don’t need to negotiate with the women if they want to build the market. They just did it to appease them and they are taking it for a ride.”

He continued: “My final word is that the women are looking for trouble. Because they are not educated they are misbehaving. The few ones who are educated know what is happening but the wicked ones, most of them are witches and wizard they don’t want to listen; going about talking anyhow. Say they sell market. Sell market to who, who wan buy am, who wan sell am?