By Eche Nwaobasi-Nnewi
The Caretaker Executive of Kano/Okwei Street Market Onitsha led by their Chairman, Mr Ebere Obi (Tallest), has distanced themselves from an alleged extortion & collection of money from the wheel barrow pushers operating within the market as publicly alleged by unknown person who claimed to be a barrow pusher operating in the market during a call in program hosted by a local radio station operating in Onitsha.
The newly inaugurated caretaker committee made this clarification while briefing newsmen in his office on the matter, according to the committee the executive of the market has never collected any money from any wheelbarrow pusher nor demanded any money from them.
The officers maintained, ” the executives has never collected any kobo from any wheel barow pusher for any reason. What happened was that when some of them started going away with people’s goods to unknown destination instead of delivering such goods to the rightful owner, we reported the criminal act to main market police division where we agreed with police to make elpron and create a register for them for easy identification if goods are stolen”
Furthermore, they stated that they are yet to implement the arrangements before the intervention of barrow pushers state leadership who promised us that they would fish out those criminals within their circle.”
But reacting to this, the Anambra state wheel barow Owners and pushers executives led by Mr Ikechukwu Ezeorachalu in their office in Onitsha admitted that the union has taken over in the case of kano and okwei Streets market but lamented that some market leaders are planning to use the same method to intimate and extort money from their members despite that the Executive governor of Anambra state Prof Chukwuma Charles Soludo excluded wheel barrow operators from any form of tax in the state.
Mr Ezeorachalu who was not comfortable with the arrangements of some market leaders on wheel barrow pushers accused some of them of making things difficult for themselves and the wheel barrow operators.
According to him, our union knows how to identify criminal elements among the wheelbarrow pushers but insisted that some of the market leaders don’t give them the chance to do that.
His words “We know how to identify criminals and get them arrested. Each wheel barrow has a number and intiel, each wheel barrow pusher also has an identity card duely signed by our office,”
“So if you want to engage any wheel barrow operator, first copy the number in that wheel barrow, ask for his ID card and capture the ID, then if he disappears with your goods just come to our office, we will find him and recover your goods for you.”
The Onitsha Urban Coordinator further accused some market leaders of not allowing their taskforce team inside their market for proper checking of those who claim to be their members.
Mr Ezeorachalu also alleged that some criminal minded traders did what he called “Carry And Discharge” that is a situation where a trader will buy a wheel barrow and will not register it for proper identification and would give it to his crony who will go out and pose as wheel barrow pusher. Some of such people if engaged for services will disappear with customers goods and return them back to that person who sent him which is the owner of the wheelbarrow. The same trader will turn around to accuse wheel barrow pushers of disappearing with people’s goods.
While lamenting their predicament, he pleaded with the state government to direct the market leaders in the state to allow them inside their market to enable them fish out those criminals parading themselves as wheel barrow pushers.
Allowing us to manage our union within and outside the market without any interruption or intimidation from market leaders would go a long way in eliminating wheel barrow pushers handicaps, lamented Mr Ezeorachalu.