Traders cry out to Gov. Ayade over intimidation, disruption of business and extortion at Ediba Ika Ika Market Calabar

Our Reporter

Traders and other business owners at the Ediba Ika Ika market, Calabar Municipality of Cross River state have cried out to Governor Ben Ayade to come to their urgent recue as they are now under siege and on the verge of been thrown out of their legitimate means of livelihood.

The traders, mainly women and a few men made the call when they reached out to Daily Times over the weekend.

Pleading not to be named to avoid being singled out for further humiliation, the traders complained that the head of Calabar municipality Council Pastor Augustine Nkagi is colluding with the Chairman of the market Emma Mbora and that the two men are threatening to throw them and their goods out of the market, in spite of the huge investment they have made, out of their little earnings, to develop the market.

They said many of their shops are already under locks while some others have been destroyed by the Pastor Augustine Nkagi led Municipality Council, leading to fears by many of them to enter the market and operate their businesses.

They are therefore calling on the state Governor, to intervene and save them and their families from unemployment and consequent hunger, as a result of the injustice against them and their businesses.

According to their story, the market under contention was an open place where they paid N5,000 annually to ply their trade under umbrella and makeshift tents since 2014 until last year when Emma Mbora appeared from nowhere with claims that the authorities of the Municipality have handed over the place for him to control.

They said Emma told them he has been authorized to develop the place and that anybody interested in owning shops would have to pay for the number of shops they want, which would make them become owners as the shop would be of little space and therefore less expensive.

“We do pay renewal fee of N5,000 every year from 2014 for the open space where we sell under umbrella and other makeshift tents for the Ediba road, Ika Ika market Calabar.

“But in 2018, last year October/November, one man called Emma came and said that he is the new market master. He said they want to turn the open space to shops and that those interested in the shops should pay N60,000 for each.

“63 persons were able to pay the N60,000. Some paid for two shops at N120,000 and others paid for three at N180,000,” they said.

However, not satisfied with the amount paid, they said Emma levied them again, saying more money was needed to complete the shops.

“Early this year he (Emma) came back and asked us to pay another N40,00 each for completion which we paid. After that, he came again a third time and demanded for N15,000 from each of us.

“The total money we have paid for each of the shops is N115,000 and we are 63 people that have paid the complete fee for the shops which brings to a total of N7,245,000,” they said, adding that now that the shops have been completed, Pastor Augustine and Emma Mbora are asking that those with more than one shop should relinquish one for the so called “stakeholders.”

“As the shops have been completed and we moved in, Pastor Augustine Nkagi, Hhead of Calabar Municipality Council called for a meeting by May this year and said if you have 2 or 3 shops government will collect one where.

“We asked why and he said the stakeholders want it; and that they the stakeholders are ready to pay N1million to government for each of the shops.

“So we asked ‘who are the stakeholders?’ and where were the stakeholders when we started paying for the shops.” How can a thing like this happen when we used our hard-earned money to build and now the market master Ika Ika Oqua market, Emma mbora says that the stakeholders are now interested in the shops.

“Where were they when this place was dust bin, when people used it as toilet as it was overgrown with weeds?

“We are appealing to the state governor to come to our rescue from Pastor Augustine Ntagi and Emma Mbora who now want to take our shops and use it to make money by selling it to the so called stakeholders,” they cried out, adding that the tenures of both men are about to end this year, the reason they want to take their shops for quick business before leaving.

“Some of us have families, some are widows. We are just petty traders but for more than one month now, our shops have been locked up. We have no money. No food to eat and some of us borrowed money from banks and the banks are searching for us,” they pleaded.

Daily times made frantic efforts Saturday and Sunday to hear from both the Head, Calabar municipality Council Pastor Augustine Nkagi and the Chairman of the market Emma Mbora by calling their mobile numbers severally but could not succeed initially.

On Saturday night however, Emma Mbora sent a rather terse SMS saying that ‘The story is fake news,” to which Daily Times responded by asking him to pick the call and give his side of the story but he refused to take any call.

On his side, Pastor Augustine Ntagi who reluctantly spoke to Daily Times after several calls, casually said that the women were trying to whip up unnecessary sentiments.

“I give you a space to use and later said I want my space back, what is wrong with that? It was ordinary space where they hide under umbrella to do their businesses but we developed the place. Now we are asking, if you have two shops give us one, what is wrong with that? he queried.

When reminded that those involved paid for the construction of the shop, he said, so what.

“They paid N100,000 in all for each shop,” he said sounding angry.
“No sir, each of them paid N115,000 for the construction and why are you trying to take them from them, even if you are asking for one shop from those that paid for two or three. Is there any justification,? Daily Times asked him.

“Don’t mind the women. They are just trying to whip up unnecessary sentiment,” Pastor Augustine Ntagi said, dismissively.

“Not all the complainants are women, Sir. Some are men,” Daily Times told him.

“Is that so? We shall see,” he said and cut the conversation, threateningly.