Enforcement of ban on street trading begins from new year – Abia Govt.

…Vows to improve power supply

From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia

Abia State Government says it will start enforcement of the ban on street trading in the state from January next year.

The State Executive Council ratified the decision to take the traders off the streets, particularly in Aba, the commercial hub of the South East, as from January 2024 during it’s meeting for the week.

The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu, who disclosed this to the newsmen, lamented that appeals, advocacies, interactions with street traders on the need for them to vacate the streets did not yield the desired result as the traders have refused to leave.

He said that apart the dangers associated with it,  street trading has not only become a menace but was taking its toll on the reconstructed roads in the commercial city and that spirited efforts by government to curb the menace have failed.

He therefore warned that government would not fold it’s arms and watch the anomaly to continue.

“With all the efforts Government has made, this menace (Street trading) keeps rearing its ugly head, particularly in Aba. Incidentally, most of the new roads that the government has constructed, people use them to trade and this will not augur well for these new roads. There has been a lot of interface between government officials and the market authorities and, in other instances, the  culprits as it were, everything has been done, but to no avail. “Despite the fact that this  government puts human face in its activities, by the New Year, government will go all out to enforce the law,”  the Commissioner said.

Prince Kanu reasured the government’s determination in ensuring that one carriage way of the Ossah-Okpara Square road expansion would be completed and put to use this Yuletide.  The same effort, he said, was being made to realize one lane of the Aba – Port-harcourt Expressway within the same period, just as government was sustaining its various road rehabilitation projects across the State because road infracstructure was very central to the development agenda of the Governor Otti-led administration.

He disclosed that so far, 27 roads have been fixed and some of them, including Jubilee Road, Aba, would soon be inaugurated.

The Commissioner reiterated that Governor Alex Otti was committed to making good his promise of defraying all arrears of pensions owed pensioners by previous administration before the end of the year.

“As a responsive and responsible government, this administration will keep to its promise. The Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, will keep to his promises of paying off all the outstanding pension arrears. In the coming days, we will be able to avail you information in that regard,” Kanu said.

He revealed that  the State government has installed over 1,700 Solar-powered Street lights in Aba and Umuahia, in line with reduction of carbon dioxide emissions goal and a step towards full realization of the renewable energy policy of the State.

Contributing, the Commissioner for Power and Public Utilities, Engr. Ikechukwu Monday, explained that  the Light Up Abia Initiative was aimed at lighting every street with solar light.

“We started with Umuahia first, now, we have moved to Aba. So, next year, we will be also moving to the rural communities. We want to make sure that every Street and every village in Abia is lighted up. And the conventional street lights, we are also replacing them with solar,” Engr. Monday said.

“We are also collaborating with the Federal Ministry of  Power to see how we can boost power supply in Abia State,” the Commissioner further revealed, adding that “there is a project, which is 132 KVA line  that is supposed to run from Umuahia to Mbalano, from Mbalano to Okigwe, this project was awarded in 2001 and it was abandoned. So , this project when executed, would have helped to improve the power supply within that axis,” he said.

According to Engr. Monday, the government could not drive industrialization without power supply, hence its commitment to improving power supply. He added that another project of 120 KVA that also runs from Ohafia to Arochukwu would commence soon as discussions in the regard were ongoing.