No fewer than 5,000 pharmaceutical products dealers at the Ogbogwu International Market, Bridge Head, Onitsha have rejected plans by some traders in the market to push them to Oba community in its proposed relocation plans as directed by the Federal Government.
The traders said rather than relocating to a proposed new site at Oba which is in Idemili South Local Government Area, they prefer to relocate to Oze, Nkwele Ezunaka/Azu Ogbunike in Oyi Local Government area of the state as the most suitable site for the proposed Coordinated Wholesale Centre, CWC, as directed by the Federal Government.
Against this background, the stakeholders, traders and Board of Trustees, BoT, under the auspices of Exclusive International Pharmaceutical Center Nigeria Limited, Bridgehead, Onitsha have written to Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, citing several reasons why Oze Nkwele Ezunaka should be the most ideal place for the proposed relocation instead of Oba.
Signed by their legal representative, Anugo Offor Esq, the group last week, disclosed that the Oba centre has been riddled with so many encumbrances ranging from litigations, ownership claims and counter claims, financial indebtedness and environmental challenges which they said the promoters of the Oba centre carefully concealed and suppressed lots of material facts from the benefiting public.
The group also disclosed that the state government had earlier given approval for the Oze Nkwele Ezunaka/Azu Ogbunike centre as the most ideal site, having been found free of any encumbrances with the size and topography of the place as added advantages.
The letter stated in part, "The promoters of the Oba centre suppressed the fact that there is serious dispute over the Oba land bordering on claims by the original indigenous communities of Oba over unlawful expropriation of the land by the Government without compensation; and the subsequent grant of lease of the said land by the Anambra State Government to a private developer, which led to litigation between owners of the Oba land as the plaintiffs, the Government of Anambra State: and the private developer as defendants."
