Traders in Ariaria market Aba especially those in A line are counting huge losses following the flood disaster caused by poor drainage system.
One of the traders who deals with shoes cried out that he lost over eight thousand pairs of shoes worth sixty million naira.
His words, “we built half walls on the front and at the back of our shops to protect our goods, but when the level of water increase, they found their way to our shops”. I am one of the highest people dealing on shoes in Ariaria market”
Another trader lamented that their goods were damaged beyond imagination since last Saturday September 24th 2022, revealing that a book seller lost over one million naira, six hundred naira books he packaged for waybill the following day.
They decried that the agony is happening to them after paying twenty-one thousand naira yearly-revenue among, other expenses the state government is collecting.
Meanwhile, the governorship candidate of the labour party in Abia state, Dr Alex Otti said there is nothing to show that Ariaria market should be called International Market.
Addressing the traders when he went to commiserate with them over the submerge of water, Otti, through his running mate, Engineer Ikechukwu Emetu, noted that it takes a serious government to construct a good drainage from Ariaria to waterside or channel the water to a safe place and observed that the amount of revenue being generated from Ariaria alone can fix the market and other parts of the city.
Engr Emetu
Otti noted that the two years tax free given to the traders by the state government is not commiserate to their property damaged by the flood and charged the traders to jettison cups of rice, money as well as other inducement and vote-in the right candidates in 2023.
He also described the misnomer that befall the traders to leadership failure.
On his part, the labour party candidate for Aba north and south federal constituency, Emeka
Nnamani urged the traders not to forget the present hardship during the dry season, bacause the state government would come with empty promises when the waters must have dried off.
Nnamani pointed out that Ebonyi state has what is called an international market and urged the traders to be patient to have permanent solution in the market.
