The Rivers government has assured the Rumuwoji Mile 1 Market traders of plans to reopen the market in January, five years after it was shut.

The market in Port Harcourt city was gutted by fire in 2016 and rebuilt in 2019 by then-Governor Nyesom Wike.

Governor Siminalayi Fubara announced the plan on Thursday when he paid a thank-you visit to the traders for their support during the gubernatorial election.

Mr Fubara thanked them for contributing to the state’s socio-economic development. He assured them that his administration, known for its responsiveness, had taken note of their concerns about the allocation of the shops.

The governor gave assurance that the stalls would be equitably allocated to them, with no interference from politicians. He urged them to continue to pray for his administration to enable it to deliver more dividends of democracy to the people.

Earlier, the traders begged the governor to reopen the market for them.

The president of the Reformed Traders Association of Nigeria, Dede Chinedu, said that their businesses had suffered serious setbacks due to the lack of space for trading in their makeshift location.

Mr Chinedu thanked the governor for his “unprecedented gesture of recognising and supporting traders.”

He lauded his efforts to prioritise their welfare and promised they would continue to rally behind him in his programmes and projects to improve Rivers.

A major highlight of the event was the inauguration of the market leadership and the unveiling of a Christmas package donated to the traders by the Rivers government, which included bags of rice, umbrellas, aprons, hampers and cash. 

(NAN)