The Anambra State chapter of the National Conscience Party (NCP) has frowned on what it called the interference of the state government in the alleged administration of markets and threatened to take the government to court over the matter.
The party is particularly worried by the recent constitution of a 48-man committee charged with checking illegal drugs in markets in the state, wondering whether the committee has the legal right to perform such function.
In a statement issued to newsmen in Awka, the Anambra State capital, on Monday after the party’s Executive Committee meeting, and signed by the chairman of the party, Mr Peter Okala, and secretary, Chief Raymond Anyaeji, the party drew government attention to what it described as “fraudulent and clandestine appointment of a forty-eight member committee known as ‘Task Force On The Prohibition Of Adultrated Goods And Products In Anambra State.’
“The 48-member committee whose credentials are yet unknown to the public has been assigned to take over the duties of Federal Agencies like NAFDAC, the Customs and Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) who have the backing of the law to determine the veracity of adulteration and the book of law to verify and identify those goods that are prohibited,’ the party noted.
NCP said it believed that by the alleged appointment of the committee through a letter, “the government is merely creating avenue to milk traders as the committee is lacking in legality to perform such function.”
Added to this, NCP said the state government had allegedly never allowed traders to elect their leaders in the various markets. Instead, it allegedly appointed caretaker committees through which it installed its agents to milk the traders and thereby impoverish them.
All efforts made to reach the State Commissioner of Trade and Commerce, Mr. Uchenna Okafor, through phone calls and text messages were not replied at the time of filing this report.
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