Tension as Onitsha drug market traders protest, demand removal of caretaker chairman
Tension gripped the popular Ogbogwu drug market in Onitsha, Anambra State, on Friday as a group of traders staged a peaceful protest demanding the removal of the market’s caretaker chairman, Chief Chukwuleta Ndubuisi, and members of his executive committee.
The protesters, under the banner of Concerned and Genuine Members of Ogbogwu Medical Traders, accused the caretaker leadership of poor administration, financial mismanagement, and overstaying its tenure.
Led by Chief Chibueze Ifejiofor, the traders marched through sections of the market carrying placards and chanting slogans calling for Ndubuisi’s resignation. They alleged that the caretaker committee had failed to account for funds, mishandled market affairs, and neglected traders’ welfare.
Addressing journalists, Ifejiofor said the caretaker committee had remained in power for nearly four years, despite being inaugurated for a three- to six-month mandate. He also accused the chairman of sidelining traders’ inputs and taking unilateral decisions on critical market matters.
Other speakers at the protest, including Mr. Benjamin Ikebata and Comrade Sunday Ezeigwe, claimed that the chairman failed to defend traders during a regulatory raid earlier in the year and had imposed levies without proper consultation. They also alleged that sections of the market had been disconnected from electricity, while multiple charges were being imposed on petty traders and barrow pushers.
The protesters further accused Ndubuisi of being loyal to political figures and government officials, saying such ties were undermining the autonomy of the market’s leadership.
However, in a swift reaction, Chief Chukwuleta Ndubuisi dismissed the allegations as false and politically motivated, describing the protesters as “disgruntled elements” from a dissolved former executive.
He explained that the state government dissolved the former leadership due to disagreements over the remittance of internally generated revenue (IGR) to the state treasury. According to him, some of the protesters were angry because they preferred the funds to be shared among themselves.
Responding to claims of overstaying in office, Ndubuisi clarified that the continued use of caretaker committees was a statewide administrative decision, not a personal choice.
