Enugu Destroys Stalls Along Walkways

The Enugu State Government has commenced the destruction of stalls on pedestrian walkways to reduce obstruction and congestion on roads.

The State’s Commissioner for Transport, Mr. Chuka Utazi, said this in Enugu on Monday while briefing newsmen during his visit to markets in the coal city, to raid traders selling at pedestrian walk-ways.

He said the government would also design a separate route for its coal city shuttles and mini-buses to restore sanity on roads.

Utazi said that the government would collaborate with the state Ministry of transport to bring sanity to the state roads.

He said that the ministry would prosecute any trader selling on pedestrian walk-ways, adding that any offender would pay N25,000 fine.

“We have discovered that traders have taken over our roads and thus destroying the infrastructure being put in place by the government.

“People now sell at pedestrian walk-ways and the tendency is that people are now walking on the roads together with vehicles.

“This causes obstruction and congestion. We are also planning to design a separate route for buses so that they will not be plying the major routes,” he said.

The Commissioner said that a special task-force would be inaugurated to compel motorists to obey the government’s directive.

Mr. Nnamdi Ibe, a bread seller at a pedestrian walk-way close to Ogbete main market, Enugu, whose batcher was pushed down, described the incident as an act of wickedness.

“The government wants to bring us abject poverty because we feed our family and pay our children’s school fees from proceeds we get here. I have six children and I am not a thief, how do they want me to feed my family?” he asked.

Mrs Agatha Elebechi, another seller at the pedestrian walkway at the Kenyatta Market said she had already paid her sanitation, local government and business premises fees for the month.

“Who will pay me back the money I have spent in settling local government agents, ESWAMA, for this month? The governor wants crime to increase in the state by doing this. The markets are already congested and even the shops you will see inside the markets are very expensive,” she said.

Another trader at Abakpa market, Mr. Ifeanyi Onuabuchi, explained that the high cost of shops at the Ogbete market pushed him into selling at the walkways in order to make ends meet.