Market women from Oba Market in Benin City on Tuesday blocked the busy Oba Ovonramwen Square (Ring Road) to protest an eviction notice issued ahead of renovation work on the fire-damaged section of the market.
The traders, who later marched to the Edo State House of Assembly, argued that the state government should provide an alternative trading site before asking them to vacate. The burnt section of the market has remained abandoned since it was razed in 2020, despite a previous administration’s promise to rebuild it. Governor Monday Okpebholo recently ordered reconstruction to begin and issued a two-month quit notice set to expire at the end of January.
Protesters like Mrs. Florence Eweka and Mrs. Mary Okosun said the directive was sudden and unfair, noting that no relocation plan or completed alternative market was available.
Addressing the demonstrators, Speaker of the House, Hon. Blessing Agbebaku, assured them that their concerns would be communicated to the governor, adding that the planned renovation was intended to improve the market and would begin with the fire-ravaged area.
