Allottees of stores at the Rumuwoji Mile One Market have been given up to the end of this month to put their stores to effective use or risk losing them.

Chairman of the Mile One Market Traders Association, Port Harcourt, Chief Young Obene Clarke Georgewill disclosed this in an exclusive interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt.

Georgewill said his association would not condone the situation where allottees make their stores warehouses or lock-up stores from where they move their goods to other markets to sell.

To ensure effective occupation and utilization of the stores for trading, the market leader said that his association was already negotiating with banks for loans to traders without collaterals, except original certificate of shop allocation.

He said the banks have shown willingness to assist the traders

Georgewill denied speculations that most of the stores were yet to be occupied because initial allottees  were demanding exorbitant rents from those to whom they want to re-allot the stores.

Arguing that it was a natural tendency for anybody in financial distress to sell his/her possession to solve immediate problem, he said he did not believe that any allottee would want to rent out his/her store so early.

He commended the state government for the commitment and transparency displayed in the completion and allocation of the stores to original stall owners at the market.

Georgewill also commended the Rumuwoji community for allowing traders, who were displaced when the old Rumuwoji market was burnt down, to use their community playground as temporary market.

Pointing out that traders have vacated the Rumuwoji Community playground, Georgewill explained that those still trading around the temporary market were youth of the community who were yet to acquire stores in the re-built market.

Meanwhile, some traders at the newly-commissioned Rumuwoji market have alleged that allottees of the stores were demanding exorbitant fees for renting the stores.

This, they said, had made it difficult for traders to occupy most of the stores.

Chief Chinaka Robert, a rice merchant told The Tide that traders in the market remain grateful to government for ensuring that almost all the traders at the market before it was razed by fire, were allocated stores and given the consideration to pay for them in two installments.

He regretted however, that many of the allottees had placed high price-tags on the stores, for renting them out, therefore frustrating government’s intention to make the market fully functional.

Another trader, Mrs. Christiana Daka who also spoke to our reporter explained that some allottees were demanding between N7,000 and N10,000 a month for small shops and between N15,000 and N25,000 monthly for front shops.

This, she said has led to the low capacity utilization of the market.

It was gathered that the state government had allocated the shops for about N220,000 for ground floor, N160,000 for first floor and N130,000 for second floor. The payments were to be completed in two installments.