The balloting system adopted by the Rivers State government in allocating the lock up shops and other stalls at the Mile One Market, Diobu was marred by confusion and protests by various interest groups at the Obi Wali Conference Centre, Port-Harcourt venue of the exercise Monday March 2, 2020.
Just as the Chairman of the Committee and Commissioner for Housing, Elder Chinedu Taise Nwobueze was putting finishing touches to the processes to be adopted in the exercise, a protesting group said to have come from the lawyer to some aggrieved traders who were screened out stormed the venue chanting war songs.
The lawyer himself, Mr Higher King, had taken the Rivers State Government to the law court protesting the method of balloting to allocate the renovated market shops when over 1,000 original shopowners have been surprisingly screened out for one reason or the other.
As the Chairman was struggling to address the situation, another set of protesters from the Rumuwoji Community stormed the venue chanting solidarity songs and declaring that they would not compromise the promised 10% slot the governor made to them on the day of the market commissioning.
And so before the Committee could come to terms with the situation amidst the now hungry, angry and tired surging crowd, they burst into a mob despite the presence of policemen. The chanting of “All we are saying, give us our shops” rent the air. Under the charged atmosphere, the now overwhelmed Committee members put heads together and suspend the process albeit temporarily.
Most of the traders interviewed expressed disappointment and lack of confidence in the Committee members to execute a transparent exercise.
According to Mr Chilee Amadi, “how can my 84-year- old mother who has been trading at the mile one market over 50 years be screened out after presenting all the original copies of her documents”.
However, the Chairman, Elder Nwobueze explained that some of the traders presented fake documents while many other groups presented papers bearing the same names and contesting the same shops.
Asked whether the court action of some of the traders has any effect on the exercise, the Chairman said they have not received any injunction neither have they been served court notice.
Meanwhile, the Committee has insisted that they will go back to the drawing board and map out another strategy of ensuring that the shops are allocated to the traders, adding that since the shops built are less than the traders themselves there is nothing else they would do but to ballot them.
Meanwhile, about 100 traders who took part in the balloting exercise on Tuesday March 3, 2020 held at Obi Wali Conference Centre, Port Harcourt won themselves a shop each at the Rumuwoji Mile One Market.
The lucky winners expressed joy at the development thanking God for their fortunes. They also confirmed that the exercise was transparent as people were called in orderly to pick the lottery in the public glare. “And what one picks is what is announced.
The Committee Chairman reiterated his advice for the traders to have confidence in them to do the right thing.
