Pecohub The Abia State Ministry of Trade and Commerce has suspended the Chairman of Ariaria International Market, Aba, Mr. Michael Aniorji, with immediate effect.
The suspension comes just four days after a faction of traders, reportedly loyal to Aniorji, staged a protest at the Aba North Local Government headquarters in Eziama over alleged activities of a private shop developer.
In a statement, the Commissioner for Trade and Commerce, Kingsley Nwokocha, announced the appointment of Mr. Hyacinth Nnabude as acting Chairman of the market.
Nwokocha urged the public, particularly traders at Ariaria Market, to take note of the change, stressing that Nnabude will oversee all market-related affairs until further notice.
The Commissioner, who did not give any reason for Aniorji’s suspension, advised all unions, associations, and stakeholders to cooperate fully with the acting Chairman in the overall interest of the market and Abia State.
Pecohub recalls that another group of traders, led by Hyacinth Nnabude, had on August 23 pledged their total support to Abia State Government’s plans to remodel the Ariaria Market, saying that many shops in the present market were suffering from leaking roofs, flooding crises, and other structural defects.
They also exonerated a private developer, Chekbest International Limited, of plans to strip the traders of their shops
