Traders and medicine dealers of Ogbogu International Market at Onitsha Bridge Head numbering over 5000 have settled for Oze, Nkwelle Ezunaka/ Azu Ogbunike in Oyi Local Government as they reject plans by some traders in the market to take them to Oba community in its proposed relocation plans as directed by the federal government, ANAMBRA PEOPLE reports. They said the site is most suitable for the proposed Coordinated Wholesale Centre (CWC).The stakeholders, traders and Board of Trustees in the Ogboogwu International Market, Bridge Head Onitsha, under the auspices of Exclusive International Pharmaceutical Center Nigeria Limited, Bridgehead Onitsha have already written to the Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo citing several reasons why Oze Nkwelle Ezunaka should be the most ideal place for the proposed relocation instead of Oba which some people with alleged ulterior motives have been projecting.In their position signed by their legal representative, Mr Offor Esq, the group on Wednesday disclosed that the Oba centre has been riddled with so many encumbrances ranging from litigation, ownership claims and counterclaims, financial indebtedness and environmental challenges which they said the promoters of the Oba centre carefully concealed and suppressed lots of material facts from the benefiting public.The group who backed their claims with documented facts disclosed to Governor Soludo that the state government had earlier given approval for the Oze Nkwelle Ezunaka/Azu Ogbunike centre as the most ideal having been found free of any encumbrances with the size and topography of the place as added advantages.According to the group, “The promoters of the Oba centre suppressed the fact that there is serious dispute over the Oba land bordering on claims by the original indigenous communities of Oba over unlawful expropriation of the land by the Government without compensation; and the subsequent grant of lease of the said land by the Anambra State Government to a private developer, which led to litigation between owners of the Oba land as the plaintiffs, the Government of Anambra State, and the private developer as defendants.”Disclosing that work has commenced at the Oze/Ogbunike site within a short space of receiving government approval, they noted that there is no evidence of any visible construction or physical development of any kind on the said Oba land since 2016 when the decision was made by the past regime of the Market while the majority of the Ogbogwu traders opposed to the choice of Oba have staged several protest marches and written letters to the Registrar, Pharmacist Council of Nigeria and several market authorities and office of the Anambra state Commissioner for trade, commerce, market and wealth creation.It would be recalled that following the policy of the Federal Government to ensure a healthy environment for sales and distribution of drugs and pharmaceutical products, and to close all open markets for sale and distribution of drugs in Nigeria, the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria proposed the establishment of a Coordinated Wholesale Center (CWC) for sales and distribution of drug materials in Nigeria.Following the said proposal, it became necessary to relocate the over 5,500 drug/medicine dealers carrying on trade presently at the Ogbogwu International Market, Onitsha, to a new healthy and conducive site for the business in line with the government’s
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