The Traders Union at Creek Road Market in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area of Rivers State has warned it’s members against street trading and operation of illegal Motor Park along the road.
Chairperson of the Union, Mrs Utray Uzidom who gave the warning in a meeting with all traders in Creek Road Market, said the union would not be responsible for any person caught by government on illegal trading issue.
Uzidom, who expressed the union’s support to the governments’ recent quit notice on street trading, said the order would help return trading back inside the market.
According to her, many street traders abandoned their stores inside the market to the streets where they would easily capture customers.
She said the street trading has made many traders to ignore renting of stores in the market despite all efforts to lure them back inside the market.
The traders’ chairperson, however said that the available stores in the market would not accommodate all traders, including the street traders and urged the government to fastrack it’s promises of building an ultra-modern market at Creek Road.
She said the N0.6 Field provided at Niger Street as Creet road market annex was filled up and that the spill over traders were the ones joining the stubborn ones on the streets.
The traders boss told The Tide that the union last Wednesday embarked on pre-evacuation operation to vacate all the street traders and illegal motors parked on Creek Road, Bonny, Niger and Benue Streets in Port Harcourt Township to avoid government’s anger on its members.
She said any trader that returns to the streets for trading would bear the risk on his or herself.
Also speaking to The Tide, the Chairperson of New Layout Market Borokiri, in Port Harcourt Local Government Area, of the state, Mrs Bright Mercy Dapa appealed to government to reduce the rent on stores in the market to enable traders acquired it, attributed the high cost of stores in new market to street trading in the area.
She also called on government to channel, the N200 million loan for traders to the right person to avoid embezzlement.