L-R: Director, Strategic Grain Reserve, Jide Olumeko, Director, Federal Department of Agriculture, Dr Odeyemi Julius and Director, West, Central Africa International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Dr Farid Waliya, at the launch of groundnut value chain in Abuja, last Monday.

At last, traders in the Rumuwoji Mile One Market have unanimously agreed to relocate to the temporary market site given to them by the state government at Njemanze street and former Obi Wali Integrated Cultural Centre in Port Harcourt.
This development followed the formal visit of the Commissioner of Police in the state to the traders of the market to address them.
The Tide reliably gathered that the police boss who was represented by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in-charge of Mile One Police Station informed the traders about government’s determination to rebuild the market, which informed the reason for relocation of traders.
Speaking, when The Tide called in his office, the chairman, Mile One Market Traders Association (MOMTA), Deacon Kenneth Eze said that the traders have all agreed to move to the new temporary site.
The chairman said that the disagreeing traders who had now seen reasons to abide by government’s decision had come to the realisation of that fact, after the police commissioner’s address.
According to him, some of those that had disagreed were misinformed about government’s intentions on the market, and were being used by those who do not like the present executive of the market to cause disagreement, especially women who sell fish and periwinkle in the market.
Eze, however, told The Tide that the contract for the reconstruction of the burnt section of the market had been awarded to Monier Construction Company (MCC).
He said that work on the site was billed to commence this week, as the company takes over the site.

Corlins Walter