Ovedhe Hezekiah – Warri.
In a bid to ensure that the popular Oil city of Warri is kept clean, the Delta State Taskforce on Environment over the weekend demolished illegal structures and relocated traders displaying their goods along the Ogbe-Ijoh market road in Warri.
The Chairman of the Environmental Taskforce, Hon. Sylvester Oromoni disclosed that the demolition of illegal structures at Ogbe–Ijoh market was timely as the traders had taken more than half of the road.
He said what prompted the demolition exercise after serving abatement notices of warning was because the defaulters chose not to obey all the pleas to quit the road and get a place in the main bowl of the market.
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According to Hon Oromoni; “Several times we have been here warning and begging them to stop the misuse of the government road but it fell on deaf ears.”
“I don’t think it is too bad if the government decides to take a stand against them now because they were given enough time to move into the main market.”
“We will always be on ground to watch their operations in this premises, not only at Ogbe-Ijoh market alone but we will be moving round the city of Warri to plant our men everywhere to make sure that the aesthetics of the oil city is revived,” he said.
On his part, the Chairman of Warri South Local Government Council, Hon. Michael Tidi who was also on ground to supervise the demolition of illegal structures on the road, said, he was so disappointed with the make-shift traders, reason being that sufficient notices had been served on them both from the local government and the state environment taskforce.
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“I am so disappointed in the attitude of the make-shift traders, reason being that sufficient notices had been served on them both from the local government and the state environment taskforce.
“But to my amazement, we kept seeing them shading their wares beyond the market boundaries. Having given them sufficient time and abatement notices, we have come to remove all the illegal structures on the road to ease free flow of traffic.”
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On how to sustain the achievements thus far, Tidi said that he must appreciate the Governor for making available taskforce on environment and having them at every nook and cranny of Warri, adding that The Taskforce in Warri South will synergies with the Taskforce on Environment to sustain the achievements recorded thus far,” Tidi said.
Hon. Tidi also denied allegations that the market lacks trading space. “What happens here is, the traders want people to see their goods first and this was the reason they left the spaces in the market to trade on the road.”
The market management Chairman Comr. Godwin Eneghan also refuted the claims that the market lacks space to accommodate the traders. He also promised to abide by the directives of the Government and to compliment the achievements recorded.
