Protesting market women barricade East-West road

By PAUL OSUYI, Asaba

On going protest by market women in Ughelli, Delta State is having huge toll on socio-economic activities along the East-West where hundreds of travellers are presently stranded.

Motorists and other road users are at a standstill as the resilient protesters vowed to stay put until their demands are met by Ughelli North Local Government authorities.

They defied security presence to stage the protest deployed by the Local Government authorities and the Ovie of Ughelli Kingdom, Wilson Ojarkovo, Oharisi III.

Some of the women who spoke to journalist said the have resorted to the protest to draw the attention of the state and federal governments to the alleged injustice and extortion by the political and traditional authorities in the area.

According to one of them, Mrs. Rose Edede said, “they said none of us should come to the market to sell, that anybody that is caught selling they are going to seize the item and take it to the police station, they said all of us should relocate to Okogbe road, that they have provided a space for us there. Behold, when we got there, the place was a swamp, for you to do anything there you will have to fill it which we don’t have the money for because we are petty traders.” (Daily Sun)