I contested election to stop members’ extortion – Lugbe market chair

Chairman of Lugbe Building Materials Traders Association, Chief Festus Obieze, has said that he did not embezzle the Association’s money, as widely claimed by factions in the market.
He said on the contrary, he contested and won an election to represent members of Lugbe Building Materials Traders Association “in order to stop the extortion of the traders by interested government agencies.” Obieze, in a chat with Blueprint, said the extortion of traders by government agencies was ongoing even before he was elected as the chairman and that the issue of stopping the extortion formed the bulk of his campaign agenda.
He said: “I still insist that I meant well for the Association when I joined in September 2012, which led to my serving as chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee in 2013, and later as the chairman, after a duly contested election.
I was particularly interested in stopping the extortion of the traders by some officials of government, whom I cannot name for obvious reasons.
“The issue of relocation is still causing problems, as factions are mischievously trying to use my recent media interview against me.
N40, 000 was paid by interested traders for allocation of shops by AMAC in the new site and they were duly issued with receipt for any payment, so I don’t know why cabals are still trying to cause trouble, instead of relocating to this new site in Aco Estate.
Anyone not interested in his or her shop should put it up for sale, because other traders are interested in buying.” It would be recalled that a lot of controversy and bad blood had trailed the relocation and proposed demolition of the Lugbe Building Materials Market from FHA Lugbe to Aco Estate in Lugbe, which was reported by Blueprint Weekend.