By Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the state government of deliberately shutting down a popular supermarket, Spar, to commercially promote another newly established supermarket, Hypercity.
Spar, which operates inside the Port Harcourt Mall situated along Azikiwe Road and adjacent to the government house, has been a beehive of the grocery business in Port Harcourt for close to ten years, while Hypercity was recently built and opened for business a month ago.
But the Rivers State Government, through the office of its Attorney-General, on Thursday, stopped Spar Supermarket from holding its annual end-of-the-year Black Friday sales, citing safety and environmental concerns. The Black Friday sales were billed to run from November 18 to November 27.
Reacting to the development, the Rivers APC described the shutting down of Spar’s operations as an attempt to cripple the business sector.
APC’s spokesman in the state, Darlington Nwauju, said this at a radio programme in Port Harcourt on Monday.
He also accused the Rivers State Government of extending the same treatment to the state’s political environment.
Nwauju said: “As of today, there’s a deliberate attempt at dismantling competence in the business sector and in the political eco-system of Rivers State.
“It is already an open secret that agents of Rivers State government procured an order from a Rivers State high court to stop the operations of Spar in order to promote the newly activated Hypercity to give the latter an unfair advantage in the groceries sub-sector.”
The APC spokesman called on the Rivers State government to retrace its steps.
Also criticising the Rivers State government for shutting down Spar Supermarket is the civil society organisation in the state. Speaking through its spokesman, Solomon Lenu, the organisation lamented that the action would deny the people working with the grocery company their source of livelihood.
“The Rivers civil society organisation condemns in strong terms the closure of the Port Harcourt Mall, popularly called Spar in Rivers State.
“What this means is that all of the people who were gainfully employed and making ends meet through employment have been thrown into the labour market. This is unfair; this is unconscionable…,” Solomon Lenu said.
The Rivers civil society spokesman appealed to the state government to use civil means to settle any problem it has with Spar Supermarket instead of the current approach it has adopted.
A chief magistrate court in Rivers State had ordered the Spar supermarket to cease carrying out its proposed Black Friday sales.
In a court order dated November 17, 2022, the magistrate court granted an interim order against Spar, restraining it from holding its Spar Black Friday sales.
The Rivers State government, through the Attorney General of Rivers State, had filed the suit against SPAR, seeking to restrain it from carrying out the proposed Black Friday sales.
The court also ordered Spar not to further obstruct the state commissioner for environment and his staff from accessing its facilities.
The order reads: “It is hereby ordered that an interim is hereby granted restraining the respondent, its agent, servant and/or privies from conducting/ holding Spar Black Friday event scheduled for November 18- 27 pending the determination of the motion on notice.
“It is further ordered that an interim injunction is hereby granted restraining the respondent, its agent’s, servants and/or privies from further obstruction of the Rivers State Commissioner for Environment and the staff of his from accessing the respondent’s facilities before, during and after the scheduled SPAR Black Friday to evaluate the environmental health and safety equipment aimed at preventing environmental harm likely to be caused by the respondent on the citizenry of Rivers State.”
TPCN reports that the RSG – Spar rift is still generating controversy in the state despite a statement issued on Monday by the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Chris Finebone, aimed at clearing the air with regard to the incident.
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