David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi
Leadership of Fairly Used Motorcycles Dealers Association (FUMDA), Nwagbara, Nkwo Nnewi market, Anambra State has read the riot act to market hustlers and fake insurance brokers that have taken over the market to stop their practices or face the wrath of the union.
President of the market association, Mr Eloka Ubajekwe made the declaration at the weekend during an emergency meeting he addressed with the support of his other executive members, and all the stakeholders in the market.
He said that the leadership of the union had observed with dismay that market hustlers had over a long period of time adopted sharp practices that fleeced most of the customers their hard earned money and its attendant loss of profits to the real traders.
Ubajekwe noted that the practice of the hustlers who had no shops of their own was to monitor when buyers of motorcycles arrived in the market and would have to mislead those customers in the pretext of helping them to buy quality and durable motorcycles.
He said that the buyers would end up paying for inferior motorcycles at the price of quality and durable ones “because of a calculated deceit by the hustlers who could make huge amounts of money in a single transaction.”
The market leader said that the hustlers because of their sharp practices made much more money than the profit of the real traders and shop owners.
Consequently, the union handed down the order that all market hustlers must quit the practice and look for genuine means of livelihood in the market, including being real traders in motorcycles, their accessories, a genuine motorcycles mechanic, electrician and whatever business that is not under suspicion or leave the market entirely to avoid embarrassment.
The union resolved that anybody that contravened the order would pay the sum of N50,000 as fine in addition to other punishments that would be meted out to the offenders which the union leadership said would be regrettable to the culprit.
Ubajekwe said the union had acquired over 25 pieces of handcuff and would get more in readiness for the offenders. He explained that the union had informed all the security agencies and would work in collaboration with them to achieve the desired result.
Part of the measures, Ubajekwe declared, was immediate constitution of a 75-man task force in the market to ensure that hustlers are no longer seen anywhere or anybody seen monitoring a customer in the market.
The same condition was given to fake insurance brokers in the market to either leave the market or do genuine deals in insurance business. The union leader made it clear that anybody caught involved in fake insurance business would apart from paying N50,000 fine, would also be handed over to the police.
He left a stern warning and also instructed the task force members to strictly fish out offenders.
He told the insurance brokers that the union had decided to form a union for the insurance operators in order to ensure there would be no room for fakers, saying that the purpose of the new union was not to begin to levy them “as some may have misconstrued it,” but to ensure that fakers were flushed out from the market.
Ubajekwe said that all manner of sharp practices among the traders in the market must stop including those who hike prices of goods to undercut other traders, which fine he said would be N150,000.
The same regulations, according to the union, had been extended to barrow pushers who were expected to clad in aprons and get their barrows duly registered by the market union to avoid cases of diverting people’s goods by the barrow operators, a case that had been reported on many occasions.
Mr Ubajekwe said he had taken his time to explain to the monarch of the community, His Royal Highness Igwe Kenneth Orizu III on the steps taken by the leadership of the FUMDA to sanitize the market.
Local engine spare-parts technicians build ultra-modern market in Anambra
Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
The quest for government at all levels to improve indigenous technology in the country is yet to be taken seriously as evidenced by the neglect and abandonment of local technicians who are talented in the construction of various types of engines and machine spare-parts which could be used in agro-allied businesses.
Multi-purpose engines of various types, such as garri processing machines, cassava peeling and processing machines, grinding mills, engine grater, palm-oil processing machines, block moulding machines, rice mill, cassava pounding machines and thresher, including other types of machines used in the agro-allied businesses are locally produced in a relatively unknown enclave at Venn Road South, Onitsha.
However, the impact of these technicians who are talented in the fabrication of these machines and their spare parts are yet to be felt by the Anambra State government as it is yet to feel the presence of the talented young men and adults who have continuously used their God-given talents to fabricate locally some of the machines and engine spare-parts still imported from abroad.
The Chairman, Engine and Agro-Allied Dealers Association, Mr Joseph Obiora who heads the umbrella association of local engine and machine fabricators who spoke to our correspondent in Onitsha with other executive members of the association narrated the abandonment and neglect which the local fabricators have suffered so far due to non-recognition by every successive government in the state.
According to Mr Obiora who was flanked by the association’s Secretary-General, Mr Gabriel Nwafulundu, PRO, Peter Idor and Treasurer, Iyke Okeke, “we have talented technicians here who have the ability to construct all types of agro-allied engines and machines, including their spare-parts. Our technicians have produced engines and machines which are used in a cluster of industries and agricultural companies”.
The technicians who revealed that a lot of people have undergone tutelage under various technicians in the union, however, pleaded with the Anambra State government to seek ways of partnering the group in order to assist train technicians in its poverty alleviation programmes, as well as grant the association loan and other incentives to enable it complete the market construction work going on at their permanent site located along Enugu/Onitsha Express Road, Ogbunike, Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Nnewi traders may clash with EEDC over epileptic electricity supply
David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi
New Chairman of Agboedo Motor Spare Parts Dealers Association (AMSPDA), Nkwo Nnewi market, Mr Denis Ikegwuonu has expressed dissatisfaction over the epileptic manner Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) has been supplying electricity to the traders.
Ikegwuonu who assumed office in April this year said despite the fact that the traders had acquired and installed an industrial meter as demanded by the electricity company, electricity supply to the market with over 3,000 traders remained nothing to write home about.
The market leader said that in some cases the traders would experience blackout in the market for three to four days at a stretch “which eventually slows down business activities and traders made uncomfortable in the market.
“The electricity company was giving the excuse before now that we did not have an industrial meter as one of the reasons for inconstant power supply to the traders. But two weeks after I took over I fought for it as one of my campaign promises and we have the industrial meter now.
“Again, they say there is problem in electricity supply generally. We are not comfortable with the excuses. All we need is steady power supply in our market. We know how much it costs the traders to run three sound-proof generators my administration acquired as I assumed office. We need steady power supply in the market,” the chairman said.
He explained that all his campaign promises, including adequate security are now being achieved and appealed to Governor Willie Obiano to provide the traders with water borehole and fire-fighting station in the market as one of the populous markets in Nnewi “so that we should not rely on the fire service station at motorcycle spare parts section of the Nkwo Nnewi market which may sometimes not have enough water in an event of fire incident which we do not pray for. It is part of crisis management.”