The Anambra State Markets Elders Forum (ASMEF) has urged Governor Chukwuma Soludo to commence the process of conducting elections in markets across the state that are still being administered by caretaker committees.
The forum made the call in a statement issued in Onitsha at the weekend, arguing that allowing traders to elect their representatives would promote accountability, stability and peaceful coexistence in the various markets.
ASMEF said several caretaker committees had remained in office for more than four years, a development it described as inconsistent with democratic principles and the need for regular leadership renewal in the markets.
The President General of ASMEF, Dede Uzor A. Uzor, said the governor should begin the process with the Anambra State Markets Amalgamated Traders Association (ASMATA), the umbrella body for market associations across the state.
Uzor said the principle of democracy that brought Soludo into office should also guide the administration of markets, particularly following the recent election of local government chairmen in the state.
According to him, the continued administration of markets by caretaker committees had deprived traders of the opportunity to freely choose leaders who would effectively represent their interests and respond to emerging challenges.
“ASMEF is calling on Soludo to commence the process of organising elections in all the markets that still have caretaker appointees in the state, including ASMATA, because all the existing caretaker committees have overstayed their tenure and are now bereft of quality ideas to keep on leading their various markets,” the statement said.
The forum maintained that fresh elections would bring new ideas and strengthen administration in Anambra’s markets, urging Soludo to extend the democratic process to the trading community, beginning with ASMATA and subsequently other markets still under caretaker leadership.