“Accuse former chairman of being behind the detention”
Traders at Ochanja market, under the platform of Emodi Shoe Dealers Association, Onitsha, Anambra State, Friday embarked on protest over alleged detention of their chairman, Mr Leonerd Umeh and three other executive members.
The others are Chizoba Nwokedi (Vice Chairman) Amaechi Mokwe (treasurer) and Onyeka Chukwuweike (Assistant secretary) by the zone 13 police Command in Awka, Anambra state.
The executive members were said to have been detained when they came to the command based on police invitation.
Demanding their immediate release, General Secretary of the association, Mr Obinna Nnobia, accused the former Chairman of the market, Chief Friday Nwabueze Umeh, aka (Ofiafuluego) of masterminding the detention.
Some of the traders carried placards with the inscription, “Nwabueze stay away from our ESDA Union; Commissioner of Commerce should come to our aid; Gov Soludo should come to our aid; sacked chairman has not rendered account for nine years”, among others.
He said, “Our former Chairman, Chief Friday Nwabueze Umeh, who they call Ofiafuluego, refused to handover after nine years of his leadership and our over 450 plots of land he took as personal property.
He is still holding the Certificate of Occupancy, (C of O) of these shops in the market and has severally dragged the executive members, especially the incumbent chairman, Leonerd Umeh, to the police.
“He has also used names of four of our dead members as Board of Trustees, (BOT) of the market and made himself as the chairman of the Board of Trustees.
” We demand the immediate release of the detained executive members and failure by the police to release them, we will embark on mother of all protest”, he vowed.
In his contribution, one of the patrons of the market, Chief Obedi Offor, said “Umeh refused us to have rest in this market for over nine years now. He is behind the arrest of our chairman and three others.
He has committed all manners of atrocities in the market and he is holding our over 450 plots of land we purchased at Oba and refused to hand over since he left office”
“We urge Governor Chukwuma Soludo, to come to our rescue by ordering the release of the detained executive members and to prevail on Chief Friday Nwabueze Umeh, to hand over our plots of land at Oba, to us.
“He should also render account of his stewardship for nine years and hand over notes to the present executive of the market led by Chief Leonerd Umeh”.
In a swift reaction when contacted, the accused former chairman, Chief Friday Nwabueze Umeh, described their allegations as false and unfounded adding that, “I have no business with the detention of the executives”
“It is those whose shops the detained executives broke and stole from, that detain them. They went and broke 17 shops and l have no business with that”
Also on the 450 plots they claimed he refused to give to their owners he said that, “I am not holding their plots, the owners of the plots of land at Oba won them in the court, some of the owners are members of ESDA” he hinted.
On the allegation of using dead members as BOT members of the market he stated that, “they have no evidence to prove that”.
