Breaking: Enugu agrees on Partial and Guided Market Reopening

A press release from the Enugu State Ministry of Information has on the wee hour of 1st May disclosed the resolve of the Enugu State Government to embark on a partial and guided reopening of the Ogbete Main market, Enugu.  

The statement noted that the Enugu State Government, security agencies, leaders of Ogbete Main Market Traders Association and Ogbete Pharmaceutical Dealers Association, have unanimously resolved that there will be a partial and guided reopening of Ogbete Main Market, Enugu.

The Ministry stated that the decision was part of the outcome of meeting between Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, leadership of the market associations and the security agencies in the state, held on Friday at the Government House, Enugu 

A statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Simon Uchenna Ortuanya, noted that the schedule for the partial and guided opening of the Market is as follows:

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays: 8am-2pm Daily

i. Pharmaceutical Dealers.

ii. Provisions.

iii. Restaurants

Tuesdays and Thursdays: 8am – 2pm Daily

i. Wholesale Food Dealers.

Other resolutions reached at the meeting, according to the statement, are:

• That the Market is open to shop owners only, to enable them serve their customers outside the Market.

• That under no circumstance shall customers be allowed to enter the Market.

• That the Akwatta Section of the Ogbete Main Market, Enugu, remains closed.

• That all shop owners entering the Market must wear protective face masks, maintain/observe proper personal hygiene and physical/social distancing protocol as stipulated by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), including regular hand washing with soap or sanitizer.

• That for the avoidance of doubt, no customer is allowed to enter the Ogbete Main Market, Enugu, except shop owners, who will only act as vendors to their customers outside the Market.

• That the security agencies are hereby directed to enforce these decisions and any violation will be dealt with according to law.

• That these measures will be renewed on weekly basis.

Ogbete Main Market, the largest Market in Enugu for both wholesale and retail products including abundant food Stuffs, Provision, Appliances, Clothings, all household items etc, was shut down in compliance with COVID-19 prevention strategies of the Enugu State Government.

The shutdown of the market was greeted with shock and unavoidable hardship on the market men and women, and the people of Enugu State as it created a reactive scarcity of items within the Enugu metropolis since the lockdown started in Enugu.

The effort of the amiable Government of Enugu State, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to ensure the safety of the good people of Enugu amidst the fight against the Coronavirus Pandemic, is unpresidented and parallel to none.

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The Governor's consideration to rub an oil on the market lockdown is as a result of his meticulosity over the plight of the good people of Enugu State who have been on the compulsory lockdown for more than 2 weeks.