From Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
Traders at Bridgehead Market, Onitsha, Anambra State, are excited over the rehabilitation of the major road at Timber Market by Governor Willie Obiano after 44 years of its neglect.
The road which was reconstructed under the N10 million Choose-Your-Market project of Governor Obiano had been in deplorable condition for decades after the market was established in 1973.
The traders who spoke to Oriental News commended Obiano for wiping out their tears to give them another lease on life.
According to them, the condition of the road had sent many traders back home as it made the market highly inaccessible and thus customers finding it difficult to patronize them over the years.
The President of Bridgehead Markets, Mr Sunday Obinze, said that the rehabilitation of the road has boosted sales made by the traders, especially the timber dealers who need motorable road to transact their business.
He, therefore, commended Obiano for keeping to his promise as a trade-friendly governor.
“The road is a marvelous job and people are happy in the market, not only the traders, but all the people that use this road because of the deplorable condition of the road before now.
“This road is part of the N10 million project given by the governor to the markets which was reconstructed by every standard. Apart from the road, the governor has provided borehole and toilets and other conveniences in the market and also worked on the Niger Street bad portion of the market.
“My advice for the traders and Anambrians is for them to vote for hard-working governor that we know than those we don’t know who promises to do this or that, they should vote for a man you can easily reach, when you call him on phone he will answer you and I know that the traders will vote for him for a second term in office because of what the governor has done, especially on security; no trader will easily forget what the man has done for them,” Obinze said.
Also, the Chairman of Amalgamated Timber Dealers Association (ATDA), Bridgehead Onitsha, Chief Bede Nwankwo, described the project as the most essential among all the projects embarked upon by the governor in the markets.
“We are so happy about the rehabilitation of this road because the percentage of sales of traders in this market was zero due to lack of good road network. We deal in woods which need access road to carry it in and out, but since the road was in deplorable condition, no buyer comes to this place to buy woods because there was no access road and most times vehicles were trapped here. We had tough situation on the road before now, but thank God that Governor Obiano has wiped out our tears by reconstructing the road on good standard. We don’t know that the road is wide like this until after the rehabilitation.
“Since this road was rehabilitated our sales have increased and buyers have been coming to this market to patronize us. We thank the governor for this help and pray God to return him for the second term, we are strongly behind him and we are going to vote for him massively during the November 18 governorship election because he has performed very well. If the constitution should allow it, he should continue in that office many years to come. We expect more from the governor in his second tenure. We need firefighting equipment/vehicle in this market because of the type of business we do here which is wood.
“Obiano’s governance traversed all the nooks and crannies of the state, there is no place or village or community he has not touched, as he is doing at the markets, work was still going on at various communities under the N20 million Choose-Your-Community projects. The people of Anambra are aware of his marvelous job and can’t afford to lose such wonderful performing governor and should come out en masse to vote for him for a second term,” Nwankwo pleaded.
A trader in the Timber Market, Chief Basil Eze, said that he was overwhelmed with joy when work on the road started and completed without wasting time, saying that the road has been bad since 1973 when the market was established.
“Since we started operating business in this place, we have not gotten any government presence until in August this year when the governor came to our rescue through the rehabilitating of the long-aged dilapidated road at the timber market, bridgehead which has been a death trap for many years. We are thanking God for Obiano whom God used to work on this road. This present government has been helping traders since they came on board. Before now this road was full of mud, but today it is wide and passable.
“I also commend the leadership of bridgehead market led by Obinze and Nwankwo of our market through which this road was being reconstructed to keep it up. Everybody is happy over the road now, the union was trying to do palliative work on the road over the years to no avail because they don’t have the capacity to do it, but today government has done a good job on the road and we thank the governor and pledged our support for his reelection,” Eze said.
Also, elderly traders in the timber market, Chief Godson U. Obi and Chief Jonathan Okpala thanked the government for the road, saying that the reconstruction has increased their sales and would also boost the revenue generation of the state government and by extension the economy of the state.
“Since they finished the road rehabilitation, we the traders have been over-joyed because the bad road brought hardship and suffering to the timber dealers mainly, but today, it is over and we give kudos to our governor for this fit and still expect more because he will win the second term bid due to his track records in this first tenure; no government has remembered this market, but only Obiano and we are going to work hard to ensure his return to power,” they promised.