By CHARLES IWUOHA

The State Government has reopened the popular Ogbete Main Market for full operation.

This follows an agreement reached between the Enugu State Government and the leadership of Ogbete Main Market Traders Association on strict compliance with the guidelines of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on containment of the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Addressing newsmen at the Government House, Enugu, after a closed-door meeting with Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the Chairman of Enugu North Local Government Area, Hon. Emeke Onunze, and the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Ogbete Main Market, Hon. John Eze, expressed delight and gratitude to the governor for his understanding and commitment to the safety, health and wellbeing of residents of the state.

News Express reports that Ogbete Main Market, alongside other markets in the state, were closed on April 1, 2020, as part of the proactive safety measures by the state government to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

Speaking after the closed-door meeting, Enugu North Council Chairman, Hon. Onunze, announced that the state government has reopened the market and thanked Gov. Ugwuanyi for the gesture.

In his speech, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Obgete Main Market Traders Association, Hon. Eze said that “today is one of our happiest days in life”.

He disclosed that it was agreed that “you must wear facemask before you come to the market, and if you come to a shop, you must wash your hands. If you are a trader, you must have a bucket for washing of hands and a sanitiser, and apply other precautionary measures by the government”.

The caretaker chairman who pledged that the traders will strictly abide by the guidelines and other measures further disclosed that Gov. Ugwuanyi did not only reopen the market, “he made promises to us that he will want the raffle draw (Enugu State Traders Empowerment Scheme) to start this month and that he is going to start a concrete pavement at the Akwatta Market.”

According to Eze, “He (the governor) also promised us a lot of things and based on that he now directed that the market should be reopened in line with the NCDC guidelines and other precautionary measures”.

He stressed: “We are going to make sure that we keep to that and we are not going to disappoint him again.”

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