Abia Enforces Ban On Street Trading, Reviews Ban On Tricycle Operations

Abia State government, yesterday, said it would
Monday, August 8, begin the enforcement of the
ban on street trading in the state and advised
traders to relocate to approved sites, even as it
extended the operational hours of tricycle (Keke)
operators in the state from 7pm to 9pm.
Chairman of the Abia State Market Development
Committee, ASMDC, Mr. Solomon Nwaigwe who
stated this while addressing phone and
accessories dealers at St. Michael’s Road, Aba,
said the three months grace period given to the
phone dealers to relocate to the Aba Mega Mall
would not be extended as enforcement of the
order would commence next Monday and
warned that defaulters would be prosecuted.
Nwaigwe who stressed the dangers of street
trading, hinted that the state government had
mapped out sites for all service providers in the
city to have a central market as obtainable in
other parts of the world. He claimed the state
government had provided conducive environment
with regular power supply and security at the
Aba Mega Mall and ensured that traders would
pay a monthly rent of N5,000 and N120,000,
annually, for bigger shops.
According to him, “Abia State government is not
going back on its resolve to end street trading in
the state. On this, we are appealing to the phone
and accessories dealers at St.Michaels road to
relocate to the Aba Mega Mall where a
conducive business environment has been
provided for them at affordable prices. My
Committee will ensure that all dealers on phones
and accessories relocate to Aba Mega Mall to
ensure a centralized market in Aba.” Meanwhile,
the government has extended the operational
hours of tricycle (Keke) operators in the state
from 7pm to 9pm.
The Government had last year restricted their
operation to between 6am and 7pm, accusing
them of using their tricycles to commit crimes.
Before the restriction, crime rates in Aba and
Umuahia rose astronomically and there cases
when crimes, including kidnapping and robbery
were linked to operators, prompting the
Government to ban their operation beyond 7pm.
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu who announced the
extension in Aba at a solidarity rally organized in
his honour by the Abia State Amalgamated
Tricycle Operators Association, ASATOA,, said
the initial restriction to 7pm was due to the
increase in crimes linked to the operators.
The Governor however tasked operators to get
rid of the bad eggs among them, promising that
government would stop the imposition of
multiple levies on the union.