AWKA – Workers on site, market women and observers were stunned to witness a tussle reminiscent of opposition political bickering rather than that of officials from the same party – the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), as the recently appoint­ed Transition Chairman of Nji­koka Local Government Area, Barrister Chinedu Ononiba, on his first official day in office on July 5, 2024 issued a military fiat stop work order at two major markets at Nkwó Enugwu-Ukwu and Oye Agu Abagana markets.

Enforcers of the TC Chair­man arrived Nkwo Enugwu-Uk­wu and Oye-Agu Abagana, in gangster style, and forced their way in, pasting a letter dated July 4, 2024, entitled, “Stoppage Of Work at Markets In Njikoka LGA”, to the consternation of onlookers.

Investigations by our corre­spondent showed that the market reconstruction was initiated by the immediate past Chairman of Njikoka, Ambassador Clem Agu­iyi, as a private sector sponsored project on Build and Transfer ba­sis with no single financial input by the government of Anambra State.

The Nkwo Enugwu-Ukwu is a traditional market owned by Enugwu-Ukwu community and managed by the Enugwu-Ukwu Traditional Council, now recon­structed to over 200 shops, while the Oye Agu market is owned by Amaenye Village, Abagana, but concessioned to the government based on a 1979 agreement, re­newed in 2003 at the ratio of 40% development commitment by the community and 60% by the government. There are current­ly about 600-900 new shops in the market.

Reacting to the sudden turn of events at Oye-Agu, Abagana, Chief Obed Nweke, a developer, said the order already cost him 20 bags of cement mixed to com­plete work on site.

“I am from Amaenye and I can tell you that we have completed our part of the agreement.

“In fact, this project is over 80% complete and what is re­maining is the work of private builders.

“Our village is ready to be­gin sharing revenue as agreed, I don’t know the meaning of this disgrace and open fight by this Soludo government people,” he said.

The situation is equally per­plexing at Nkwo Enugwu-Ukwu where a Supervisor who simply identified himself as Nwike, confirmed that the project is 99% completed.

“In fact, we are ready to begin allocation of the ground floor shops to original owners free as agreed, while the upstairs will be sold by the sponsors to recover their investment. I don’t under­stand this rofo-rofo fight o.”

The new Transition Chair­man, Barrister Ononiba, had re­portedly shown his hands when he personally moved to stop on­going development of shops on June 29, 2024, even before being sworn into office, thus creating anxiety among private develop­ers of the markets.