Chinedum Treasure
Members of the Allied Building Materials International Market, Nteje popularly known as Ogbo Rod, along Enugu-Onitsha expressway have sent a save our soul message to Anambra State Government to enforce total compliance for the relocation of all Iron Dealers to their permanent site as officially directed.
Speaking at their new site at Nteje, President General, Hon Ignatius Ejike said they have completed their new site and relocated from where they were trading on the streets at Atani Road, Port Harcourt Road, Uga Street, and Bridge Head Market, Onitsha on rent since February, 2025.
“Our new site comprising eight different markets including: Iron Dealers, God’s Favour Union, Steel Pipe Union, Trinity/Unity Iron Dealers, Plastic Tank Dealers, PVC Pipes Dealers, and Combined Iron Dealers Union was built with international standards creating enough space to allow heavy duty vehicles move in and out to load or off load with ease.
“There’s also provision of central over head tanks for each Union for steady water supply in all the shops, yet some of our members insisted on defying the state government’s directives for us to vacate the streets”, he explained.
Identifying lack of access roads as the only challenge facing the market, Ejike called on government to come to their aid and provide quality access roads for the market to thrive.
Contributing, one of the members of the Board of Trustees, BOT of the Market, Chief Nnaemeka Onuzulike thanked God for the successful completion of the Market which they started in 2014 and occupied it since February 2025 as their own.
He appealed to all their members to join them as eight united unions to make the market stand out as the destination for everything iron and other building materials, calling on the government to provide access roads in the market to make it motorable.
Also speaking, a stakeholder in the market, Chief Ignatius Agbalizu extolled the leadership of the market for a good job they did, noting that the market is strategically located opposite the Federal Housing Estate, near the University on the Niger, a 5-minutes drive to Umueri Airport.
He added that the Unions have decided to give a 5 percent discount to their customers from September 8 to December 31, 2026.
In their respective remarks, some of the traders in the market, including the Chairman, Trinity/Unity Iron Dealers, Ferdinand Ukoh, Chairman of Iron Dealers, Evaristus Ejezie, Nonso Ezeudogu and Chigozie Nwafor called on their runaway members to return and join forces with them to move their own market forward.
Meanwhile, a tour of the market revealed that the Market, situated on 1233 plots for land, comprising over 7000 shops built with standard convenience for the comfort of the traders is lively as lories were seen loading and off loading iron rods and other building materials.
While many shops are fully occupied, some are still under lock and key, but the market urgently desires asphalted access roads and a beef up of their entrance gates to make it truly an international market.
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