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By Anayo Okoli
Friday, August 20, 2004
AWKA—CRISIS is brewing in Umunze, the headquarters of Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State over the erection and sales at very exorbitant prices of market stalls at the town’s market, Nkwo Umunze, by the council’s Transition Committee in collaboration with a contractor, Royal Rok Enterprises, Ltd, based at Umuahia, Abia State. The traders in the market and the citizens of the council area are complaining of the collection of N10,000 non-refundable application deposit by the company which they claim yielded millions of Naria. Already, the Anambra State House of Assembly has been petitioned by an aggrieved applicant, Nze Austine Amah, who complained against the activities of the councils Transition chairman, Mr. Ben Oranusi who he alleged owned 80% of the new shops. Each stall is sold at N.45 million. Aggrieved traders were worried over the collection of N10,000 non-refundable deposit from them by the contractor to build stalls which are in turn sold to them at exorbitant prices in a manner that lacks transparency and accountability.
”How can we contribute money for a contractor and few council workers to erect shops which are in turn sold to us while we were initially made to know that the stalls would be balloted and payments made to thecouncil installmentally by the winners. The system used by the council and the contractor is very stange and fraudulent”, an aggrieved trader," Emeka said.
Also, some business men who were given some stalls to erect claimed that they paid an unreceipted sum of money ranging up to N1.5 million to the council chairman before they were given the chance to build their blocks of stalls. However, the council, transition chairman, Mr. Ben Oranusi claimed that he had the full backing of the state government to build the stalls. He spoke through his personal Assistant, Mr. Chris Amah who claimed that the government gave them initial approval to build 60 stalls and which was later increased to 100. The government he claimed collected N20,000 for each of the stalls. Oranusi said his council has already paid N5.million to the state government, claiming that the N10,000 non-refundable deposite collected from unsuspecting traders and citizens of the council area was part of the money paid to the government.
But the agreved Amah in this petition called on the House of Assembly to find out the level of the stategovernment’s involvement in the whole Nkwo Umunze market affair. In the petition dated July 24, 2004addressed to the speaker of the House, the petitioner said.”In line with the popurlist tendencies of this administration, we are not surprised that government gave the Transition council chairman approval to erect stalls at Nkwo, Umunze. We equally aware that government gave approval believing that the people of Orumba South and other investors within the locality would benefit from such laudable project. Alas, this has not been so. The chaiaman demand and collected N10,000 each from over 1000 unsuspecting members of the public as non-refundable deposits for applicationform for the purchase of these stalls which is less than 100 in number.”The irony of it all, is that Orausi (the transition chairman) (allegedly) now owes 80% of the stallspersonally and the remaining 20% are owed by his cronies mainly from his “Nelilkpa” claro: The entire transaction lacks transparency.
The system for sharing the stalls is unknown. There is no publication for tender. The Local Government Area is not in the picture. “Right now, they have started selling the stalls at the rate of N400,000 each, all into private pockets”,the petitioner said, while urging the House to find out where the funds collected from the unsuspectingmembers of the public were deposited and investigate the fruadulent use of the Governor’s and commissionerfor Special Duties names to intimidate the members of the public.The House has summoned the chairman and the petitioner preparatory for public hearing in the Nkwo Umunzestalls project.
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