7th March, 2021
By George Odok
The Cross River Government through the Ministry of Environment has destroyed over 10 structures erected with blocks on the fence of the Marian market on Sunday in Calabar.
The demolition is coming three weeks after some shops were also destroyed at the same market.
Speaking, the State’s Commissioner for Environment, Mr Mfon Bassey, told NAN at the Marian market that the structures were demolished to create sanity within the market environment.
According to him, the structures were built without the approval of the government and the authorisation of the Calabar Municipality Local Government Area.
He took a swipe at individuals who were bent on making quick money by allocating spaces meant for shops that were yet to be built, thereby exploiting some traders of their hard-earned money.
“As you can see, these structures were erected on the fence; no approval was given for the building of these structures.
“From what we heard, the individual who allocated these spaces to the traders collected between N200,000 to N400,000.
“We have warned traders severally to stop dealing with unauthorised faces in the allocation of these spaces but they won’t take our warning seriously.
“There is no way we can allow shops to be erected close to the driveway. We want sanity and cleanliness to be restored in this market,” he said.
NAN