Shock and disbelief were yesterday written boldly on the faces residents of Onitsha as Governor Peter Obi in the early hours of the morning stormed the town to flag off the demolition of illegal structures and personally supervised it along the Upper Iweka dual carriageway.
Traders confirmed to LEADERSHIP that as early as 5am, soldiers and other security agents took over the area before the arrival of the governor at about 6.30am. Obi had previously pleaded with those trading along the road to vacate it to make way for construction work.
Speaking during the exercise, Obi said the era of preaching to residents to keep the environment clean was over. He said he had spent two years pleading with the people, and was now ready to match them with force.
He described as unacceptable a situation where passing from Nkpor into Onitsha appeared like moving from a sane area to a riotous environment, maintaining that Onitsha just had to be put right.
Governor Peter Obi said he was not asking people to leave Onitsha but to take their trading to designated markets, saying that the state had enough markets to take care of the affected traders. He stated that once things were done properly in a neat environment, it will make for the blossoming of the city.