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By Madu Obi
Tension is mounting among dealers of iron rods and plumbing materials in the commercial city of Onitsha as they trade words over alleged payment irregularities concerning their planned relocation to a new site at Nteje, Oyi local government area of Anambra State.
While some of the concerned traders allege that they are being shortchanged after paying for plots of land for the development of the Nteje proposed market, their former leader, Nnaemeka Onuzuluike said those complaining defaulted in payment and are therefore no longer part of the deal.
In the meantime, the concerned traders have called on Governor Chukwuma Soludo to prevail on Onuzululike to hand over their plots to them.
Addressing reporters in Onitsha, the traders also appealed to the governor to prevail on the former chairman not to disturb or chase them out of Atani road market where they have been carrying out their business activities, since they have been in Court with him over their plots of land at Nteje.
The group's spokesman, Mr. Okafor Celestine Uzochukwu, who is the current Financial Secretary of the union said the trouble started sometime in 2014 when they joined with other unions namely, Iron Dealers Port Harcourt Road, Iron Dealers Union, Uga Street, Pipe and Plumbing Dealers, Bridgehead all in Onitsha and others to acquire land to build new market at Nteje.
According to him, when they acquired about 1,200 plots, the former chairman asked them to pay N150, 000.00 each in three instalments of N50,000 each which they did.
He said they were taken aback when Onuzululike said the property was 900 plots, and that a little over 300 plots were devoted for roads construction.
He added: "In 2015 or there about, Onuzuluike told us that the place had an issue and asked us to pay another N100,000 each to resolve it, which we did and he confirmed that it has been resolved.
But unfortunately, when we called him to show us the plots we had paid for he refused. Instead of showing us our plots of land, the former chairman asked us to pay another money, this time N1,450,000 each person who had earlier paid N250,000.
We then went to court but while still in court the former chairman went to build shops and started selling them, even some plots to outsiders.
He refused to give us account of the transaction.. Up till now we don't know the number of those who paid for the shops, rather he asked each of us who had earlier paid N250,000 to pay another N1,450,000 to build shops for each of us which we refused."
He accused the former chairman of using the money he got from selling their plots to fight them and compromising a lot of people.
He said that when the former chairman's tenure expired after eight years of two tenures, he refused to hand over and hung unto the office until Governor Soludo appointed Caretaker Committees in the market.
Okafor said unfortunately, the current caretaker committee chairman, Mr. Evaristus Ejezie, was Onuzuluike's, lamenting that he was dancing to his tune.
"It is more or less as if he is still running the association . He is in his third term because Ejezie is a rubber stamp. Nnaemeka still operates the account of the union. Out of four accounts of the union, he only handed over one which contained N22, 000 in it", he alleged.
The traders said that all efforts to resolve the matter at the the State House of Assembly and other places were thwarted by the former chairman who they alleged brought thugs to stop them from loading and off-loading at their Atani Road Market, which is an indirect way of forcing them to Nteje site, which he has not accounted for.
They called on the governor to prevail on the Onuzululike to immediately hands off their union activities since his tenure has long expired and equally urgently render account of the money paid to him and the plots bought with it with a view to handing over to every person who had paid for his plot.
Denying the allegations, Onuzululike said that there is no iota of truth in what they were saying adding that he did not hijack the plots they bought for the traders at Nteje.
According to him, those complaining refused to join others to pay up their money to own their shops, accusing them of being busy causing trouble.
He said that they had agreed during the general meeting that he would give account of his stewardship when they completed the market and packed in, wondering why they are now demanding that the account should be rendered when the market had not been completed.
Onuzululike said in one of their meetings with Special Adviser to the governor on markets, Chief Evaristus Uba, it was agreed that he should hand over any government property with him to the new caretaker committee chairman, which he had complied with.
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