IT was five years in construction. Many traders, including displaced persons from the northern part of the country, were ejected from the former market to make way. Scattered, and having no alternative, the petty traders took their fate with equanimity and sought other places to buy and sell.
But on June 4, 2013, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Azubuike Ihejirika, took some time off from the second quarter Army conference he was attending in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, to commission what has become the new mammy market, constructed by Ebonyi State Government at the cost of N981m.
Ihejirika, who earlier accompanied Governor Martin Elechi to lay the foundation for a compo ration factory at Nkwagu military cantonment, explained that the contribution of the civilian populace to the welfare of the military gives soldiers confidence to put in their best and even pay the supreme sacrifice, if need be.
According to the Chief of Army Staff, compo ration is another name for packed cooked food ready for eating. He said the cost of the factory is estimated at N500 million. “And we believe it would be completed and commissioned before the end of this year,” he said of the factory.
On how the military reciprocates gestures of support from state governments, Ihejirika said: “Like I said earlier, what we have to render is service. And in rendering this service, we collaborate with the state at governmental and communal levels to ensure peace.”
Governor Elechi disclosed that the N981m spent on the market was not generated in one fell swoop, pointing out that it is not correct to say that the military is not covered by his mandate. “At the National Economic Council (NEC), support for the military and the police are regularly discussed. So, we are supposed to lend helping hands to the security forces, like the police, Department of State Security and the Army”.
Earlier, the state Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Housing, Mr. Friday Nwogha, told the COAS that the market contains 640 lock-up stalls, VIP toilet, fire-fighting station among other amenities.
Officers of the military police had a hard time chasing away enthusiastic market women who wanted to show their joy over the new market.
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