The President General of Electrical Market, Obosi in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra state, Chief JohnBosco Chike Onukwo has raised the alarm over awaiting disaster of falling tower at the market.
He said that the tower which was constructed at the market about 19 years ago was at the verge of collapse if urgent action was not taken by pulling it down carefully before it could cause disaster in the market.
Onukwo while addressing newsmen after their market prayer session, accused the former coordinator of market evangelism, Mr Chikwube Nwankwo of being responsible for the delay to pull down the falling tower.
He alleged that Mr Nwankwo refused to provide access for an excavator to pull down the tower.
He disclosed that the market leadership had appealed to Mr Nwankwo whose goods and equipment blocked access to the foot of the tower, to remove those things to give way for the tower to be pulled down but to no avail.
Onukwo said that the same man who reported to the Anambra State Physical Planning Board about the danger of the tower, which made the agency to visit the site and marked it ‘remove immediately’ refused to evacuate his equipment and goods to give way to pull it down.
The PG who was flanked by the executive members, trustees and stakeholders of the market conducted newsmen round the falling tower, where they repeated their appeal to the trader whose goods blocked the entrance to the place to remove it immediately in order to pull the tower down before it could cause havoc.
He said: “The market leadership will not be held responsible should the tower collapse. We are ready to pull it down but the man whose goods blocked the entrance blatantly refused to remove his heavy equipment which he used to block access to the tower for the evacuator to pull it down.
“We have appealed to him severally. The office of the Special Assistant to the Governor on trade came and appealed to him, the new council chairman of Idemili North came to appeal to him and the Physical Planning Board came and marked the tower for immediate removal to avert impending danger but to no avail.
“We don’t want to take laws into our hands and that is why we are still appealing to him to urgently remove all blockages to pave way for evacuator to come into the place to pull down the tower because it is at the verge of collapse..
“It is dangerous, if it collapses on its own. He claimed to have come from Governor’s town and for that reason he refused to do the needful to save lives in the market.
“I want to appeal to state government agencies to prevail on Mr Nwankwo to remove his equipment to allow evacuator to pull down the tower. If the tower falls on its own it will destroy so many things including lives.
” My leadership is people-oriented and I don’t want anything to bring more hardship or grief in the market, that’s why I want to carefully pull the tower down but somebody is playing politics with it, calling me names and blackmailing me for trying to save lives, “he said.
On a swift reaction, Mr. Nwankwo said that he was ready to remove his goods to give way for evacuator but had some challenges. He said that the crane which could lift the heavy equipment to another site was not available.
“I was the person who has been crying all along to pull the tower down before it causes disaster. My life is not safe here, my wife and my workers stay here, so we are not safe too.
“The Chairman of Idemili North came last Friday and gave me two weeks to evacuate the heavy equipment. The crane that can lift the equipment went to work in Ebonyi state and will be there for six days.
“I promised that before the deadline it will be removed and they can pull the tower down, “he assured.
