From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
Aggrieved members of the Edo State Market Women’s Association and Traders Welfare Union have moved against the association’s leadership after regular accusations of corruption levelled against its President, Blacky Ogiamien.
The aggrieved women took their protest to the palace of the Oba of Benin, where they displayed placards, reflecting their concerns.
The protesters also sang songs of courage that gave voice to their worries, condemning ‘evil union in markets’ which they alleged is behind the increase in the price of food items across markets in the state.
A spokesman for the Edo Traders Welfare Union, Lucky Orukpe, called for the immediate removal of Edo market women’s association leaders, citing alleged highhandedness and failure to account for finances of the association.
Orukpe alleged that the funds include the sum of N100 million donated to the association by Senator Adams Oshiomhole in his capacity as Governor of the State years ago, which the leader has yet to account for having found out the truth behind Ogiamien’s intrigues.
Another leader in one of the markets, Mrs. Patience Asuen, feeling a range of emotions, passed a ‘no confidence vote’ in the unions’ leadership prompting them to seek the intervention of the Paramount traditional ruler in the state.
Speaking on behalf of the Benin Palace Chiefs led by Chief Isaac Oghafua Oyeoba, the Oyeoba of Benin, assured the peaceful protesters that the Oba of Benin, who is the life patron of the union, will ensure that justice is served.
Despairing the protesters’ fears, Oyeoba, who was joined by other Chiefs, cautioned the protesters against violence and advised them to conduct their activities in a peaceful manner.
To prove her innocence, Blacky Ogiamien, previously, led a procession of traditional worshippers in Benin and swore loudly at some shrines, dedicated to the worship of deities and asked ancestral spirits to bear witness over the allegations levelled against her, insisting that she has nothing to hide despite conspiracy theorists bent on blackmailing her.