By Amby Uneze in Owerri
The planned relocation of the famous Eke-ukwu market along Douglas road, Owerri, capital of Imo State, may generate a huge crisis in the state if the state government goes ahead to carry out her plans as the elders of Owere municipality, the ancestral owners of the over 200 years old market, which was built by their forefathers, have opposed its relocation to another local government.
Making their stand known during a press briefing, the elders under the auspices of Owerri Solidarity Club said that the government action was capable of destroying the peace that had existed in the state if such plan was eventually executed as “we will resist any attempt even with the last drop of our blood to see our ancestral homes as well as the graves of our forefathers bulldozed”.
In the statement signed by the President and Secretary, Barr. Egeonu Mere and Mr. Eddy Ejiogu respectively, they appealed to the governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha to instead look for a more suitable area within the new Owerri capital territory to construct whatever government deems fit but to leave the market which is the only identity they have to show as a people.
“On behalf of the Owerri people, we are all saying the same thing. The entire Owerri is highly opposed to the relocation of Eke-ukwu Owere market. In the first place we were not consulted by government. We cherish that market because it is the only identity Owere people have now and can be proud of. The market has existed for more than 200 years”, they observed.
More details later
