Thousands of traders at the popular Ogbete Market in Enugu State on Wednesday took to the streets to protest the sealing of their shops and business centers by Governor Peter Mbah led administration in the state.
Mr. Mbah who had earlier banned Sit-at-home order in the state declaring it “illegal” had on Monday ordered that all shops and business centers which failed to open for businesses be sealed off.
Carrying out the order by the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, ECDA, led by the Secretary to the state government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, the agency sealed several shops and business centers that did not open.
Mixed reactions have continued to trail this development as many people described the ‘order’ as violation of the fundamental human rights of the people.
They argued that sealing of people’s shops who didn’t open for businesses on Monday as a result of fear, is not the way out.
The protesters who expressed shock over what they described as “ill adviced order” from the governor in a time government should be assisting the masses to cushion the effects of the hardship being experienced by Nigerians, called on Governor Peter Mbah to listen to their cries.
The market men and women had thronged major streets in the metropolis calling on the state government to urgently reverse the order and unseal their shops.
They sang solidarity songs, causing traffic gridlock for hours on the popular streets of Ogui Rd, Coal Camp and some parts of New Haven.
They were armed with placards with various inscriptions such as ; “Unseal our shops ”, “We have rights to open or not”, “we are legitimate owners of the shops”, “Our members are dying”, “Save us from this harsh weather”, “Mr Governor, you promised to attract investment, focus on that” among others.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one of the protesters, said the traders were not satisfied with the decision of the government saying “we are in dilemma over the inhuman decision of Peter Mba led administration .”
“We are the electorates, we put him in that office, it is not by their power. If he fails to do this for us, we will change our minds.”
