Assembly poll: Why APGA lost in major towns in Anambra – Traders

Forum 1 year ago

Assembly poll: Why APGA lost in major towns in Anambra – Traders

CONCERNED traders in Anambra State have attributed the failure of the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in the state to win the March 18 House of Assembly election in towns hosting major markets to the traders’ grouse with the state government over their leadership issues.

Chairman of the concerned traders, Chief Augustine Echezona, said the poor performance of APGA candidates in constituencies in Onitsha, Ogbaru, Nnewi and Awka, was due to the failure of the President General of Anambra State Markets Amalgamated Traders Association, ASMATA, Chief Humphrey Anuna, and the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Ezeajugh to offer traders a credible leadership.

Echezona said : “ASMATA under Chief Anuna is a total failure. What happened in the last election had never happened since the inception of the umbrella market body under Chief Okwudili Ezenwankwo.

“What caused the failure of traders to deliver APGA candidates was bad policies of the leaders in Anambra markets. If the governor looks well, APGA failed in all the communities which have viable markets because of bad policies of ASMATA. “Traders protested against those bad policies with their votes on March 18 in favour of other politcal parties.

” Anambra traders want credible leadership which should emerge through free and fair electoral process, instead of the current caretaker committees characterized by incompetence and nepotism.

“The caretaker committee system gives opportunity for them to collect huge sums of money from those they appointed.

“How does the governor therefore want traders to vote for his party, but does not know that the same traders want their leadership democratized?

“Anuna and his people have refused to fight corruption and nepotism in the markets. He should immediately resign so that traders will have credible leadership in the markets. It is only credible market leadership that can talk to traders and they would, in turn listen to them, not the imposed leadership.”

He recalled how the ASMATA caretaker committee chairman was booed in all the markets when he went to campaign for APGA candidates in the last election and wondered how the party could have won.

He said that it was the imposition of the leaders that angered the traders and made them antagonistic to the government.

He said that although APGA is still a strong in Anambra State, the governor should quickly make amends, insisting that once Governor Soludo does the right thing by putting credible leadership in Anambra markets, APGA would bounce back to its winning feat.

He said traders were ready to give the administration of Prof Chukwuma Soludo tremendous support if he gives his backing for traders to choose their own leadership who should be people that know about market administration.