Orie Orba market leaders seek Mbah’s intervention over leadership dispute

Members of the Orie Orba Market Traders Association (OOMTA) in Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State have asked Governor Peter Mbah to intervene in the leadership crisis rocking the market to avoid a bloodbath.

Crisis erupted at the market following an alleged dissolution of the elected executive of the traders’ association and line representatives without notice or information to the traders on November 7, 2025, by the Council Chairman, Aka Eze Aka.

Aka had the next day, November 8, announced and inaugurated a seven-man caretaker committee in his office to run the affairs of the market for the next six months and ordered the dissolved elected executive led by Mr. Brendan Ugwu to hand over to the committee.

The traders had resisted the move and sought the intervention of the State Ministry of Trade, Investment, and Industry and urged it to call the Council Chairman to order.

The Commissioner for Trade, Investment, and Industry, Adaora Chukwu, in a letter dated December 17, 2024, and addressed to Brendan Ugwu, stated that the dissolution arose from the “factionalisation of the traders union,” which she added was “threatening the peace and livelihood of the traders and the market which the ministry oversees.

“In the light of the above, it is incumbent upon Enugu State government to intervene and neutralise the tension and restore peace and order in the market.

“As a corollary, all traders association and market executives are hereby dissolved and therefore cease to exist henceforth. In the interim, the state government will constitute a caretaker committee that will oversee the affairs of the market pending when a new election is conducted.”

She also constituted a caretaker committee from her office to oversee the market.

But the traders, in a petition to Mbah, protested the decision of the ministry, insisting that there was no problem whatsoever in the market for anyone to come up with the dissolution of her elected executive.

In a letter to the governor, signed by the Traders Association Chairman, Brendan Ugwu; Secretary Odo Osita; Treasurer, Eze Osita and Financial Secretary, Ugwuede Hyginus, the traders stated they were elected in September 2023 by the constitution of the association to serve for four years.

“Up till now, we are at a loss as to what informed the ill advised action of the Chairman of Udenu Local Government. Our attention was never drawn to any complaint against any of us. The misunderstanding that a few of our members had with members of the task force and security men and the chairman had been amicably resolved through the wise counsel of our grand patrons and patrons,” they wrote.

The market leaders noted that the blanket decision of the ministry to constitute a committee to run the affairs of the market without hearing from the members was not only unfair but unconstitutional.

They appealed to the governor to reverse the unlawful dissolution of the duly elected executive of the market association and withdraw the appointment of caretaker committee for the market.

“Our association has no electoral crisis that needs intervention. Those who have taken it up in themselves to cause a breach of peace should be demonstrated with to leave us alone to do our businesses in peace and not create a crisis where none existed,” they stated.

They informed the governor that the association posted N35million in the 2024 e-ticket payment by traders in the state and eagerly awaiting the award promised by the revenue board as the best-performing market in the entire state.

Meanwhile, efforts to speak to the Council Chairman, Aka Eze Aka, on why the market association executive was dissolved in the first place proved abortive as he did not respond to the calls and messages sent to his phone.