By Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
Although the election of new executive members of Rumuwoji (Mile 1) Ultra Modern Market may have come and gone, facts have emerged on why the exercise was hastily conducted last Saturday.
TPCN investigation revealed that the high rate of corruption perpetrated by the committee in charge of the market and the intervention of the chairman of Port Harcourt City, Hon. Victor Ihunwo informed the hasty conduct of the election.
TPCN gathered that the committee members were fond of embezzling funds generated in the market rather than remitting same to the appropriate authorities, including the Port Harcourt City Council under whose domain the market falls.
According to the investigation, the committee in charge of the Rumuwoji (Mile 1) Ultra Modern Market also embezzled the levies it collected from the traders without keeping an accurate record or using the money to maintain the building complex.
According to sources, the committee made a lot of money from branding by companies dealing in confectionaries and seasonings and yet embezzled same without remitting anything to the authorities, to the chagrin of some of the stakeholders in the market and representatives of Rumuwoji Community –owners of the land –and Port Harcourt City Council working in the market.
The sources claimed that the committee made huge money from the branding done by the company that produces mentol, a popular confectionary, with nothing to show, adding that what members of the committee were after was what would enter their pockets rather than the interest of the market and other stakeholders.
However, the last straw that broke the camel’s back was the most recent Maggi branding advert from which the committee raked a whopping one million, five hundred thousand naira (N1.500,000.00) which it still embezzled.
TPCN gathered that when the chairman of Port Harcourt City heard of it from angry stakeholder, he quickly summoned the committee members and all other officers working in the market to a meeting.
At the meeting, some of the stakeholders exposed the corrupt activities of the committee members which made the chairman of Port Harcourt City Council, Victor Ihunwo, to dissolve the committee and order for an election to choose those who will run the market and be accountable to the government.
This development, TPCN learnt, led to the hasty conduct of election after just a few weeks of campaign.
However, the crisis has continued to trail the exercise since it was conducted last week.
