![\"\"](\"https:\/\/intersociety-ng.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/market-scene.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u2026Intersociety, Southeast & Anambra CLO Alerted Leading Governorship Candidates In A Joint Letter<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Onitsha, 12th<\/sup> July 2021<\/u><\/strong>: The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety)<\/strong> and the Southeast Zone and the Anambra State Branch of the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) <\/strong>have alerted the four leading Governorship Candidates and two alternative others concerning the ongoing shambolic elections in various Markets across the State and associated rots threatening social peace and harmony in same. The dastardly act is being perpetrated by the outgoing Government of Anambra State through its Commissioner for Trade and Commerce, etcetera, Mr. Uchenna Okafor. <\/strong>The recipients of our joint letter are Prof Charles Soludo, APGA Governorship Candidate, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, Governorship Candidate of YPP, Chief Valentine Ozigbo, Governorship Candidate of PDP and Senator Emmanuel Nnamdi Uba, Governorship Candidate of APC. The two alternative Governorship Candidates also petitioned are Hon Chukwuma Umeoji of APGA and Senator Ugochukwu Ubah of PDP. The joint letter was successfully delivered to them on Sunday, 11th<\/sup> July 2021 through a WhatsApp mode of communication. The joint letter was signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi and Barr Chinwe Umeche for Intersociety, <\/strong>Comrade Aloysius Attah for the Southeast CLO <\/strong>and Comrade Vincent Ezekwueme for Anambra State Branch of the CLO. <\/strong>The four signatories also signed this joint statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the three-page jointly written letter, the leading Governorship Candidates were not only put on early warning notice over the subject matter but also enlightened on the consequences of the dastardly act of the outgoing Government of the State. These include gagging the next or incoming Government of the State by throwing a spanner in the Government-markets\/traders relationship, development and enhancement of trade and commerce, market security and harmonious social relationship, democratic culture of \u2018one-man-one-vote\u2019 or participatory election and absence of leadership imposition through use of \u2018caretaker committees\u2019 or the newly introduced \u201cunopposed elections\u201d as well as transparent and accountable revenue generation, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Apart from indiscriminate imposition of unelected and un-electable persons as \u201cunopposed elected market leaders\u201d through \u201cunopposed elections\u201d-whereby all the Government appointed \u201ccaretaker committees\u201d are now being restored and installed with four year tenure through the so called \u201cunopposed elections\u201d; the joint letter also highlighted other rots bedeviling Anambra Markets and they include undue interference in market affairs and muscling of democratic process and right of traders to choose their leaders freely and democratically. Others are favoritism and nepotism, sundry extortions and indiscriminate imposition of criminal taxes and levies out of which, at least 80% hardly ends up in Government coffers or cannot be traced to official Government revenue records. Fraud in Anambra markets has also risen to an apogee. This is to the extent that payers of stallage fees are hardly issued with receipts, in addition to imposition of criminal penalties running into tens of millions of naira. Also stallage receipts for payments made in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 are yet to be issued and collected by many, if not most of the affected traders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The joint letter listed the recently conducted shambolic elections by the outgoing Government of Anambra State to include the \u201cgeneral election\u201d of the Ogidi International Building Materials Market held on Wednesday 16th June 2021 where the serving Government appointed caretaker committee chairman, Jude Nwankwo and his loyalists were returned as \u201cunopposed elected executives\u201d. This is against the backdrop of the fact that it is anomalous and undemocratic to allow serving members of the Government appointed Market \u201ccaretaker committees\u201d to stand as candidates. Other investigated shambolic or \u201cunopposed elections\u201d were those that took place at the Niger Street Timbers Market, Onitsha, where the State Government appointed \u2018caretaker committee\u2019 Chairman, Emmanuel Obumso (from Aguleri) and members of his \u2018caretaker committee\u2019 were returned as \u201cunopposed elected executives\u201d and the Iron Benders (Akpakara) Market in Bridgehead Market, Onitsha, where the Government appointed \u2018caretaker committee\u2019 Chairman, Okechukwu Nwani and members of his \u2018caretaker committee\u2019 were returned as \u201cunopposed elected executives\u201d. Another shambolic election has been fixed for tomorrow, 14th<\/sup> July 2021, at the Power Tools and Allied Market in Onitsha Bridgehead Market and those of the Bridgehead Central Market, Onitsha Drugs Market, Onitsha Main Market, Ogbaru Main Market, Ochanja Main Market and others have been lined up and dotted with predetermined outcomes or automatic emergence of their \u201cCaretaker Committees\u201d and their chairmen as \u201cunopposed elected leaders\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n