By Peter Anosike
The Board of Trustees of Articles Dealers Association, Lagos Badagry Express Road, has taken over the management of the market.
The move followed the alleged refusal of the association’s president, Mike Elendu, to conduct an election and hand over after the expiration of his tenure more than 14 years ago.
Speaking at a general assembly meeting of the association which was summoned by the BOT, Comrade Jerry Dimaka said all appeals to the president and his executive to do the needful fell on deaf ears.
According to him, it is unheard of where a president would stay in office for 17 years and refused to conduct election. He lamented that everything in the market had gone bad.
He said: “The Board of Trustees of the market summoned this meeting to restore hope and confidence in the traders. Since the president has refused to conduct election and hand over to a fresh administration. We have taken over the management of the market. The BOT of the market met on March 5, 2025 and decided to take the bull by the horns. So, we have decided to take over the management of the market .The motive is to turn the market around for the better.
In due time, we would be setting up an electoral committee to conduct an election for those who would preside over the market.”
In his contribution, one of the founding members of the market, Chief Ofoegbu Ihejirika lamented how the president who had a single term of three years had stayed in office for 17 years. According to him, whenever the president is asked to conduct an election, he would claim that the court said that status-quo should be maintained.
He alleged that the president sold the market secretariat without the consent of the executive or the board of trustees and boasted that he was in charge and as such nothing would happen.
He also said that it was after the Board of Trustees had looked at the way the market was going that they decided to step in and rescue it.