The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ABA

  • ‘Kainji, Jebba plants lose N900m monthly over stranded 150mw’

    Following the stranded over 150Mega Watts (MW) in Kainji and Jebba Hydro Power Plants, the operator Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited Limited (MESL), is currently incurring excess of N900 million monthly.

    The Executive Director, Siraj Abdullahi disclosed this to reporters that were in Kainji plant, Kainji in Niger State, to get first hand information on the stranded power issue.

    He said that ” On an average we loses N900million every month as a result of power that we have that is ready to go to the grid and it is not taken either by ram down or by high grid frequency. There are worse months we lose over a billion.”

    Due to the losses, the  company has planned to sell its stranded power to some local and international eligible customers.

    Abdullahi, however, noted that the only snag that is delaying the company from vending its electricity directly to the consumers through the eligible customers policy is the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

    According to him, the commission that has been sitting on the customers and generation companies’ applications  for the operation of the eligible customer policy, has not formally approved any application for eligible customer operation.

    His words: “They (NERC) have been putting a lot of impediments on the eligible customer policy. Our customers have applied, we have applied, we have given all necessary documentations. But till today, they (NERC) have not given anybody any formal approval. So, I am not sure they are helping us, as much as they should be helping us.”

    He admitted that the company has been through the arrangement of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) shopping for eligible customers for the stranded power from neighbouring countries of Niger, Bukinafaso, and Benin Republic.

    Read Also: AfDB approves $100m for Kainji, Jebba hydro power projects

    In preparation for the supply of power for the international customers, the MESL has opened idle pits in the plants to install two turbines that produce 120mw each for onward transmission to the West coast.

    Abdullahi noted that “that is why we are full members of WAPP. We want to plan to see if we can get to Niger, Bukinafaso, and beyond.

    Continuing, he said that “We are working on another unit one G9 that will give us 80mw. We have started decoupling one G7 that will give us another 100mw. We are doing two G6 in Jebba for 96mw. Even for the local market we are rapping up. This year we are going to start two G6 in Jebba.”

    According to him, there is a limit to what the company can sell to the eligible customers because the commission does not allow 100% eligible. He stressed that it will be a fantastic idea if the firm is allowed to send 250mw to eligible customer.

    He disclosed that on the average on the grid, the MESL has never done 650mw, noting that “the day we did 822mw, on 16th of September, 2018, we killed a cow here to celebrate.”

    Mr. Oladele Sunday, who conducted the reporters round the plants explained that the stranded power in Kainji at that moment was 34mw that was rammed down (load reduction) , noting that the case of Jebba was different as it was outright shutdown of 120mw.

    Enumerating the five eligible customers of the company, he said they are Came Industries, Ilorin; Came Integrated Steel Rolling Mill; Olam Farm, Ilorin; Lord Smith Techno Nigeria Ltd in Ewekoro, Ogun State and Inland Galaxy in Aba, Abia State.

    He further revealed that other Chinese companies were already requesting to become their eligible customers.

    He  revealed that the company has been using transmission and DisCo network  to distribute power to its eligible customers. He said that “without using DisCos or TCN, we have to run a line from our facilities.”

    The arrangement, according to him, is that the MESL pays wheeling charge for using their facilities.

    One of the officials in charge of Business Development, Mr. Umar Aliyu, noted that for one to qualify as an eligible customer, there are customers that operate within the space of TCN’s 330 and 132 KV, those ones only need to do transmission use of system agreement.

    He added that “but where an eligible customer’s prospect falls within a DisCos space, we still give him power but we have to do a distribution use of system agreement.

    According The Sunday, at times, the operator releases  the water from the dam because of the stranded power.

  • Aba shoes in markets carry dollar price tags

    In a bid to endear their goods to consumers, local shoe and leather goods manufacturers in Aba have resorted to labelling their goods with the names of foreign famous brands. What’s more, the products also wear dollar price tags.

    These shoes which look attractive are vintagely displayed in our markets. Not just Lagos markets but popular markets across Nigeria. One common thing with all of them is that their price tags are printed in dollars. There price range is usually between $50 and $59. They have famous brand names like Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein, Russell and Bromley, amongst others, and yet their prices are below $60.

    Ordinarily, such brands, even when on sales, are priced higher. As at the time of going to press, dollar was exchanging for N360.00 per dollar. At that rate, $59 will amount to N21,240.00 but at Lagos and Enugu markets the said shoes and sandals sell for N4,000-N5,000 far below the supposed dollar price.

    Some of the smart traders or more greedy ones, engaged in selling second hand foot wears, go as far as adding these Aba manufactured ones with famous brand names and foreign price tags with their other fairly worn foot wears. At the second hand shops, they even sell as high as N7,000.00, convincing the buyers that those are the original ones as they got them as ‘stock’. Stock is the name they call fashion goods imported from grey markets.

    Unfortunately or fortunately, consumers patronise them as they tend to have more confidence now in second hand goods than brand new products. They believe that most brand new products in the open market are manufactured in China and as such are of low quality, but if the products are from Europe and USA, even if they are fairly used, will end up lasting longer as their quality is higher.

    Unbelievable as it sounds, investigations reveal that Aba shoe manufacturers first transport their wares to Benin Republic and Nigerian marketers import them into Nigeria as foreign foot wears. Market investigations reveal that this trend has been going on unnoticed by consumers for over five years now.

    However, the good news is that consumers are patronising the foot wears which come in trendy fashionable styles. In an interview with a buyer, Ngozi Nwankwo, in Balogun market Lagos, she excitedly gushed, “I thank God for these Aba shoe makers. The shoes are good and affordable. Before I was buying only solid imported shoes but they are quite pricey now. Some sell as high as N20,000 for a pair while Italian shoes and bags that we used to buy N18,000 now sell for between N65,000-N75,000.

    “Whether they are made in Aba or Europe, I do not really care. What matters to me is that the foot wear is well made and the price attractive,” said another lady who was trying the Aba made sandals with foreign price tags.

    However, some of the traders deny vehemently that the shoes are manufactured by Nigerians. They claim they are manufactured by foreigners and imported into Nigeria as ‘stock’.

    However, accountant turned shoe manufacturer, Mr. Abiodun Folawiyo, group head of the fast rising brand Shoepeed Lagos, disclosed in a previous interview that Aba shoes are exported to other African countries and imported back into Nigeria.

    “They do this and put foreign labels and dollar price tags because they believe it will attract more patronage and priced better. Nigerians put more premium on imported things, though that is gradually changing. Aba shoes are well made, it’s just that the brands are not well structured. There has to be a campaign around them,” stressed Folawiyo, who is also the Director General Shoespeed Academy.

  • 26-year-old allegedly kills cousin over N500

    A 26-year-old man, simply identified as Chidiebere, at the weekend in Aba, Abia State, allegedly stabbed his cousin, Chisom, to death over N500.

    Chisom, 27, until his death last Friday, reportedly lived with his aunt (Chidiebere’s mother), who operates an eatery at the Ogbor Hill axis of Aba and was said to have shared a room with the suspect.

    The Nation learnt that last Thursday, Chisom’s aunt went to the market to buy items and asked the deceased to take charge of business while she was away.

    Immediately the mother went out, Chidiebere was reported to have entered her shop and asked Chisom to give him the N500 he learnt someone who owed his mother had paid.

    The deceased was said to have refused.

    Chidiebere reportedly insisted that the money must been given to him, and after an argument, the deceased agreed to give his cousin the money.

    It was gathered that when Chidiebere’s mother returned from the market, Chisom narrated what happened to her.

    A source close to the family said Chidiebere, who became angry because his cousin informed his mother about the matter, vowed to deal with him.

    The source said the deceased did not take the threat seriously and after supper, they went to bed.

    He said about 1am, Chidiebere woke up, reached for a dagger he hid in the room and stabbed his cousin, who was asleep, near his heart, twice.

    The incident was said to have occurred near Ebiogwu Street, Ogbor Hill.

    Neighbours took Chisom to a clinic on the Federal Housing Estate where the doctor on duty pronounced him dead.

    Read also: Command nabs nurses for allegedly selling baby 

    The Nation learnt that after stabbing his cousin to death, Chidiebere went back to sleep, not minding the consequences of his action.

    It was while he was still sleeping that youths from the Federal Housing Estate stormed the house, apprehended him and handed him over to the operatives at Azuka Police Station.

    The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) was not in when our reporter called.

    A senior police, who preferred anonymity, confirmed the incident.

    He said the matter had been transferred to Umuahia.

  • Two die in Aba building collapse

    On Tuesday, February 26 a building situated at plot 98 Old Express off Sameck Junction by Faulks, Aba, Abia State, caved in, killing two while other occupants of the structure were rendered homeless.

    Aba, a throbbing commercial city, attracts lots of people, making it easily one of the most densely populated cities in the country.

    Like the beautiful bride, Aba on a daily basis witnesses an influx of families from the hinterlands and  cities across the country relocating to settle in the city.

    One of the problems Aba has at the moment apart from bad roads is inadequate housing. This is orchestrated by the continued swelling of the city’s population.

    The three-storey building that went down in the city, it was gathered, was built years ago, and has been waterlogged for several years. This affected its foundation. It caved in, killing two while two others have their stars to thank as they were rescued 24 hours after the building collapsed.

    An eyewitness who gave his name simply as Chima said that the deceased, a father of three had escaped from the building, but couldn’t make it after part of the fence of the building collapsed on him allowing other blocks to hit him in the process.

    “The owner of the building died many years ago. The people living in the house are his two wives and other tenants.

    “We learnt that one of the landlord’s wives noticed that the house was cracking. She raised alarm, asking their tenants to leave the building that she feared that the building was going to collapse. The man that died, from what we learnt was held back by his wife, but he eventually found his way into the building after he said that there was money that he wanted to use for something urgent. He made it, but while he was running out of the building, part of the fence fell on him, but before help could come his way, other blocks had already collapsed on him and he died.

    “The other person trapped inside is an okada man. I learnt that he was resting in the house before the unfortunate incident. We started this rescue operation when he called one of his relatives informing them that he was still trapped in the structure. So, what you see going on is an effort to see if he can be rescued alive.

    “You need to see waterlog here whenever it rains and this has been happening over the years. We were happy when the Governor of Abia State, Dr.  Okezie Ikpeazu started construction work on this Old Express. But our joy went down when we discovered that the work stopped just by Sameck. We are appealing to the governor to come to our rescue. We fear that many houses may go this way.

    Some of the occupants including Mr. Patrick Uzoma, Jonathan Charles and Benjamin Uzoma who despite their loss participated in the rescue of trapped tenants told our reporter that their properties at the time of filing this report is still trapped in the rubble, adding that they were still making efforts to see if they can salvage any of their belongings.

    According to some of the tenants, apart from their properties in the rubble, huge amounts of cash which they had wanted to use for other various purposes before the building collapse is still yet to be sighted.

    They said that the only thing that they could salvage from their flats were the clothes that they wore to their various shops and offices before the unfortunate incident. For them, the incident has left them to wonder if they still have hope in life again as what they have labored for in so many years collapsed into the ground in just a twinkling.

    According to them NEMA (National Emergency Management Agency) and the lawmaker representing Aba North and South Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, Hon. Ossy Prestige had visited the site but they are yet to send relief materials their way.

    The residents who thanked the Abia revered traditional ruler, His Imperial Majesty Eze Isaac Ikonne to ensure that an excavator was on site which facilitated the rescue operation told our reporter that they got to know that some persons were still trapped in the building when a co-tenant called to inform his relatives that he was in the rubble.

    They disclosed that two other tenants were taken to yet to be known private clinics where they were being attended to. This is even as they appealed to the governor of the state, Abia lawmakers, NEMA and concerned individuals to come to their aids.

    While the residents of Old Express were still counting their losses, another three-storey building at Park road by East was said to have collapsed after a torrential rainfall in Aba which many attributed to the use of inferior or substandard materials in its construction, though no life was lost in the incident.

    Meanwhile, the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) and the Architect Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) have called on the Abia State government to set up a panel of investigation to look into the causes of constant collapse of building which has become a trend in the state.

    The Abia State Chapter of the two organizations (NIA and ARCON) made the call in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State during their fact finding mission in the sites of recent building collapse within the commercial city.

    The NIA said the frantic call became necessary following the recent collapses happening in the city that have taken lives without any serious action and punishment for those responsible for the mess.

    The fact finding mission which took the members of NIA and ARCON team to the offices of the Town Planning Authorities of Aba South, Aba North and Osisioma Local Government Areas was aimed at ascertaining the authenticity of the architects involved in the collapsed building and how they got their approvals.

    Speaking to newsmen after undertaking a tour of the incident scene, Architect Ikechi Ochiulo, Abia State Chairman of NIA urged the Abia State Government to look into the issue of constant collapsing of buildings and map out a strategy that will help punish those who cut corners during construction works.

    Ochiulo decried the presence of quacks in the state and how they go about claiming to be architects, getting their drawings approved by Town Planning Authorities without any license and seal of approval as stipulated by the law governing the profession.

    He said, “We have a situation that when collapses happen in this state, no panel, no investigation takes place. On the part of the Government, no panel of investigation is set up for culprits to be brought to book so that others will learn.

    “That’s why we plead with the Government that as these recwnt incidents have just occurred, they should not be swept under the carpet like the previous scenarios. Things must be done properly to help everyone.

    “We have procedures for checkmating this evil. ARCON has made provisions that before Town Planners are to approve any drawing, they must see the seal of a registered and licensed architect. There’s a security stamp we put on the drawing of every true professional architect.

    “Here in Abia, we have also improved on that by even having what we call authentication form for which every practicing architect must attach his license so that those in Town Planning Authority will see all those things before approving any building drawing.

    “But sadly the drawing of the collapsed building we saw at the Town Planning Office has none of all these things I just mentioned which tell you where the problems are coming from. These are part of the things we are seeing that makes us call for serious synergy between us and the Town Planning.”

    Speaking further, Ochiulo said: “The presence of these quacks is a great misnomer to our professional and the society and when there is a misnomer like this and we continue to perpetuate it, we stand a greater lose. Those quacks to set records straight are not architects and are never part of us.

    “Our society stand a greater lose because of them for example, when you have a problem of building collapse, you spend three times of the money you should have spent to do things properly.

    “The money you spent on the poor job, the money you spend to demolish and clear and cart away the rubbles and the money you will spend to build again in the right way. So, wisdom demands that you do the right thing from on set.”

    The Abia State NIA boss went further warned estate investors and other persons who wants to build in the state to desist from patronizing quarks as it will do them more harm than good.

    “We want to warn the people that are patronizing these fake people that they are doing that at their own risk. A sick person submits himself to a quark surgeon to carry out operation on him, what else does he wish himself if not untimely death? Ochiulo asked.

    He assured that the necessary provisions of the law that will soon catch up with the fake people hovering around all in the name of architects in the state.

    Adding his voice to the pathetic situation of building collapses in Aba, a renowned architect, Chief Dan Nwankwo said, “Obviously from what we can see, it’s important that we get the records straight, the problem in our state and country at large is that people don’t use professionals for building.

    “They just go to quacks, anybody, but professionals. For instance, the drawings of the collapsed building at East Street by Park Road which we saw at the Town Planning Office were not prepared by a professional architect.

    “So, we are urging the people of this state to form the habit of using professional architects and engineers in their projects. If they do that, there will be no collapse. Over and above that, they should also accept the advice of these professionals during construction so that the building will stand the test of time.

    “They think it is expensive using professionals, but at the end of the day, it is not true because a professional saves you trouble and double expenses. Imagine the collapsed building; do you know how much he will spend in clearing it?

  • Breaking: One dead, another trapped in Aba twin building collapse

    Residents of Old Express off Sameck junction by Faulks road in Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State were on Wednesday thrown into mourning following the collapse of a three- storey building that killed one of its occupants.

    The incident followed the collapse of another uncompleted three-storey building at Park road by East after a torrential rain that wrecked havocs in Aba and Umuahia,  the Abia State capital.

    While the incident at park road was attributed to use of inferior materials by the contractor, it was gathered the building at Old Express collapsed into the ground as a result of persistent waterlog that weakened its foundation.

    Our reporter, who visited the incident scenes at Old Express and Park road respectively, observed the collapsed building at Park road was under lock and key.

    Efforts were however still ongoing at the time of filing the report to rescue one of the trapped tenants in the rubble.

    Read also: Court reserves judgment in trial of Jonathan’s ex-aide

    The trapped resident was said to have called his relatives to inform them he was under the collapsed structure at Old Express.

    Some of the workers at Park road at the time of the incident were said to have sustained minor injuries but have been taken to hospitals where they were receiving medical attention.

    Some of the eyewitnesses, who spoke to our reporter, disclosed that the two incidents occurred after a torrential rain that hit the city.

    An eyewitness at Old Express, who gave his name simply as Chima, the deceased, a father of three had escaped from the building but couldn’t make it after part of the fence collapsed on him, allowing other blocks to hit him in the process.

    “The owner of the building died many years ago. The people living in the house are his two wives and other tenants.

    Abia

    “We learnt that one of the landlord’s wives noticed that the house was cracking. She raised the alarm, asking their tenants to leave the building that she feared that the building was going to collapse.

    “The man that died, from what we learnt was held back by his wife but he eventually found his way into the building after he said the money that he wanted to use for something urgent.

    “He made it alive but while he was running out of the building part of the fence fall on him but before help could come his way,  other blocks had already collapsed on him and he died.

    “The other person trapped inside is an Okada man. I learnt that he was resting in the house before the unfortunate incident.

    “We started this rescue operation when he called one of his relatives informing them that he was still trapped in the structure.

    “So, what you see going on is an effort to see if he can be rescued alive.

    “You need to see the water log here whenever it rains and this has been happening over the years. We were happy when the Governor of Abia State Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu started construction work on this Old Express.

    “But our joy went down when we discovered that the work stopped just by Sameck. We are appealing to the governor to come to our rescue. We fear that many houses may go this way.”

    Some of the tenants who were seen around the vicinity thanked God for sparing their lives but lamented their loss.

  • Armed men kill policeman in Aba

     

    An unidentified Mobile Police Force personnel was on Sunday afternoon reportedly killed by unknown gunmen in Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State.

    Unconfirmed reports have it that the deceased was a security officer attached to a popular hotel located off Azikiwe Road by East in the commercial city.

    The gunmen said to be numbering four, according to reports who came in a tricycle, after killing the Mobile Policeman went away with his AK 47 riffle as they shoot sporadically into the air.

    The incident, which our reporter gathered occurred at about 2pm, caused pandemonium in the area as passersby and visitors to the hotel scampered for safety.

    It was learnt that though the policeman was quickly evacuated to a nearby hospital for prompt medical attention, he was however said to have died before help could come his way due to heavy blood loss.

    It was learnt that a colleague of the deceased had gone out when the gunmen struck.

    A source, who said that he was at the hotel to watch a Spanish football match between Real Madrid versus Girona, told our reporter that they were at the bar drinking and waiting for the match when they heard three gun shots.

    READ ALSO: Gunmen kill 15, kidnap 6 women in Zamfara

    “People from outside started running while we took cover at the hotel bar. After three minutes later, we came out to find the body of the policeman on the floor.

    “We ran towards there in a bid to assist other hotel boys to see if he could be revived.

    “It was then that they told us that the gunmen came with Keke NAPEP, unknown to the officer, they shut him three times and took his gun.

    “They were two policemen on duty. The other one, we learnt had gone out before the incident happened. He came back to meet the colleague in the pool of his blood.”

    When contacted, the spokesman of Abia State Police Command, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna said he was yet-to-be briefed on the incident and promised to furnish our reporter with information on any development.

    A source within the Abia Police Command, who spoke to our reporter anonymously, confirmed the death of the police officer.

    According to the source, the police are suspecting the gunmen were armed robbers or political thugs who needed the gun to carry out their nefarious act.

    The source, who expressed worries over the recent attack on security operatives, disclosed that yet-to-be known gunmen attacked and killed a member of the Abia State Vigilante Service popularly known as Bakassi Boys at one of the busiest area Ama Hausa by Mosque road and made away with the vigilante personnel’s pump action gun.

     

  • Fifteen escape death by whiskers

    Fifteen passengers of a commercial bus have reportedly escaped death by the whiskers after the bus they were travelling in caught fire in Aba, Abia State.

    Eyewitnesses that claimed to have witnessed the incident told our reporter that the bus whose occupants conveying traders had cleared off the road to give chance for a passenger to alight at the popular Opobo junction, Ogbor Hill bus stop when it caught fire.

    Our reports gathered that there was commotion as passengers scampered to safety while the driver climbed to the roof of the bus throwing away luggage and tyre. Sympathizers were said to have brought several fire extinguishers to quench the fire, but it became intense.

    Read Also: Offa robbery: Reps to investigate death of key suspect

    According to an eyewitness, Markson Dimkpa, “We were at the restaurant beside the road when the bus parked and in within a minute, it caught fire. People began to scream. Passengers hurriedly alighted; an elderly woman was quickly ferried out of the bus. Other people brought out fire extinguishers, but the fire grew in strength. The bus was totally burnt, but we thank God that no life was lost.”

    In an interview with our reporter,  one of the passengers identified as Victor , said they were returning   from a market in Akwa Ibom and had no problem on the road until the bus caught fire at the junction.

    Effort to contact the Director, Abia State Fire Service, Mr. Uche Eke, was unsuccessful as the time of fling this report.

  • Traders lose millions as fire razes Aba, Kano markets

    Goods and other property estimated at millions of naira have been destroyed in fires at Nkwo Ngwa Market in Aba South Local Government Area of Abia State and at Kasuwar Kurmi (‘Yan Gumama) Market in Kano.

    The fire at the timber and furniture section of Nkwo Ngwa Market razed 156 shops, leaving many families in grief for their losses.

    The Chairman of the market traders’ association, Okechukwu Lawrence, told reporters at the market yesterday that he was informed about the incident on phone around 7 p.m on Saturday.

    Lawrence said he rushed to the scene immediately and he as well as the market’s task force members broke its gates to let in sympathisers to help put out the fire, using water from a borehole.

    “We tried our best before firemen came in. We used water from our borehole to put out the fire.

    “But the hoodlums around later broke the borehole in their bid to steal our pump while the fire was raging.

    “That was how I saw it on Saturday. The fire was too much and it gulped millions of Naira worth of goods and property.

    “We have some building material sellers in all these front shops. The second row of shops is occupied by furniture sellers and dealers in other things.

    “We recorded a very big loss here but there was no loss of life or injury,” he said.

    Lawrence debunked claims that his members attacked the firemen who were on the scene to put out the fire.

    The chairman said some hoodlums, called Aroo Boys, attacked the fire service men.

    He said the Aroo Boys also entered the market, broke into shops, carried rice, stock fish, clothes and other property and left.

    Lawrence said the fire could have been stopped with the help of the fire fighters before it destroyed up to 100 shops.

    According to him, this was hindered by the suspended Ozuomba road project by the state government.

    He urged the government to come to fix the road and attend to other needs in the market.

    Police Commissioner Chris Ezeike, who visited the scene on Sunday morning, said he was there to access the incident and sympathise with the victims.

    Ezeike noted that the section of the market was full of inflammable materials.

    He called for calm and peace, adding that the fire incident, which was said to have been caused by a generator, would be investigated immediately.

    The Senior Special Adviser to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu on Security, Capt. Awa Udonsi (retd.) said he had been notified about the incident and would involve the concerned ministries in the matter.

    Udonsi said he would not take decisions for the governor but assured the people that the government would “do the right thing” in the situation.

    Also, Kano State Fire Service said fire destroyed 77 temporary shops at Kasuwar Kurmi (‘Yan Gumama) Market in Kano.

    The fire service spokesman Saidu Mohammed told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano yesterday that 70 of the shops were destroyed.

    “We received a distress call in the early hours of (Sunday) at 07.35 from Aliyu Ibrahim that there was a fire at the market.

    “We quickly sent some of our personnel and a fire fighting vehicle to the scene at 07.43 a.m to put out the fire so that it would not affect other shops,” he said.

    The spokesman said that 70 of the shops were destroyed while seven others shops were saved due to the quick intervention of the firemen.

    He advised traders and other residents to be more careful and desist from using instruments capable of triggering fire to prevent future occurrence during the dry season.

    Mohammed also advised the people to keep fire buckets, blankets and extinguishers that would enable them curtail the fire before calling on the fire service.

    Mohammed said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

  • Traders lose millions in Aba inferno

    Traders in  Nkwo Ngwa market in Aba South Local Government Area of Abia State have lost goods worth millions of naira in a midnight fire that engulfed the market.

    While police and other agencies have launched investigation to unravel the cause of the fire incident, sources at the market told our reporter that they suspected that it  was as a result of the carelessness of a food vendor who couldn’t properly put out fire in her shop before closing for the day.

    Another source has it that the fire started in a wood processing factory in the market.

    Our reporter who visited the market on Sunday in the company of Abia State Commissioner of Police, Chris Ezike gathered that over 100 shops were engulfed in the inferno.

    It was learnt that the fire incident which started at about 8pm lasted several hours before it could be put out by some of the callers to the scene and through the efforts of personnel of the State Fire Service who were on hand to stop the fire from spreading to other parts of the market.

    Some of the affected traders who could not hold back their tears said that their loss run into millions and lamented the bad situation of the road leading to the market which prevented the Fire Servicemen from arriving the scene in record time, causing them to suffer more damage.

    Prince Okechukwu Lawrence, chairman of the market confirmed that there was no loss of live, but regretted the level of damage suffered by the traders as a result of the inferno.

    Lawrence while debunking that the traders attacked personnel of the fire service, disclosed that hoodlums capitalized on the incident to loot from other shop owners in the market.

    He appealed to Abia State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu to come to their aid as many of them have lost their means of livelihood through the inferno.

    In his speech, the Commissioner of Police in the state who said that he was on a sympathy visit and to have firsthand information of the incident, called on the traders to be calm and peaceful as police had already launched investigation into the matter.

    Ezike added that they have started compiling the names of the affected traders with the intention of forwarding same to the state government for necessary actions to be taken.

    The Senior Special Adviser to Abia State Governor on Security, Captain Awa Udensi (rtd) who was also at the scene expressed the regret over the loss, adding that the state government would see ways of coming to the assistance of the affected victims.

    Awa assured the traders that their plight would be tabled to the Governor of the state as soon as he (Ikpeazu) arrives the state from his trip.

    Some residents who spoke to our reporter described the incident as unfortunate, stressing that they were all afraid that the damage could be much going by the rage of the inferno.

    They thanked the commissioner of police for showing concern and prayed that efforts would be put in place to check a recurrence of such ugly incident.

  • Aba has great future investment potential – Ikpeazu

    Abia Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu has urged Nigerians and other nationals contemplating investing to invest in Aba, whose great investment potential would soon double with Enyimba Economic City construction.

    Dr Ikpeazu made this call in Aba on Thursday while speaking at the First Aba Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ACCIMA), Business and Investment Summit.

    Speaking about the potential of the economic city, the governor expressed delight in the planned city.

    “I am proud to say that we have an irresistible product that will turn around not only the economy of Abia, not only the economy of Nigeria but the economy of Africa.

    “Everything was taken into perspective in the conceptualisation and design of Enyimba Economic City.

    “That is the way to go and I am sure that those who are still contemplating and thinking on where to take their investment, to bring it to Aba to avoid “Had I known.

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    “Because Aba is going to be the first city in Nigeria to have uninterrupted power supply and Enyimba Economic City will fly.

    “The time to invest in Aba is now to avoid “Had I known”, he said.

    The governor noted that the event was not a “celebration of anything” but a meeting to show that his administration was on the right path with its economic plans.

    He said that his administration had trained some artisans to produce better shoes in China, noting that with improved Made-In-Aba products in the market Nigerians should patronise home-made products to boost the economy.

    During his speech, the President, ACCIMA, Sir Andy Obasi, recalled that Aba had since the colonial days developed as a commercial city where the natives traded palm kernel with British merchants.

    He said the Aba River, the city’s location in Eastern Nigeria and the passage of the Nigerian Railway System in 1915 attracted local and international investors and grew investments in it.

    Obasi said that Aba remained a viable investment centre because it hosted West Africa’s largest Market in Ariaria, vibrant small and medium scale industries community and abundant skilled labour.

    The Chairman, Abia Think-Tank Association, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, said Aba was a well planned city in the early 1960s and 1970s which made it an industrial hub and home of multi-nationals.

    He said that infrastructure breakdown in the 1990s brought with it the rise in cost of production and resulted in uncoordinated investments and exit of many companies.

    Ohuabunwa said that even in decline, Aba still retained some strength as the key commercial hub of the South East adding that the Igbos needed to take advantage of the potential of Aba.

    He listed plans being made by Abia professionals and the Ikpeazu administration to ensure that the city regained its lost glory as a notable investment centre praying that the Aba dream would soon be realised.(NAN)