The President of the Aguiyi Ironsi International Trade Centre at the crisis ridden Ladipo Auto spare parts market in Mushin, Lagos State, Jonathan Okoli, has decried the activities of rumour mongers, who he said have vowed to create panic with a view to destroying the fragile peace in the market.
Okoli, who was reacting to a recent newspaper report, which he said was based on false information, denied that he dragged the current market caretaker leadership to the dreaded Ofufe Ntoko Shrine in Ufuma area of Anambra State to force them out of office.
He frowned at the attitude of those he described as intruders, who he lamented are using such alleged false publications and rumour mongering as a decoy to lure traders to danger and precipitate crisis in the market for selfish reasons.
According to him: “It is a wicked act on the part of any person or group to fabricate or mislead the traders and the public.
“This peddling of rumors on the pages of PM News by Mr. Cyriacus Izuekwe and Mr. Anthony Nwanzelibe, who are not even traders in our market, is another dangerous dimension to the Leadership crisis rocking our market.
“I did not summon anybody to the shrine because of Leadership or power tussle.
“I made my wealth abroad in Japan and with that money, I invested in building over 50 shops in Ladipo Market.
“It was later that the traders spotted the leadership qualities in me and unanimously elected me their president.
“I went on sabbatical and stepped aside from office to take care of my health, after I had a fatal auto crash that kept me indoors for over three years now.
“But it is shocking that some of the tenants in my shops have not paid their rent for six years, including some members of the caretaker executives or leadership like Mr. Cyril Onyemaechi, Victor Nnaji, Okey Alusi, Okey Ajego, Okey Onyema, Kosisochukwu and others.”
Okoli regretted that his tenants allegedly connived with Paramo Development Ventures and took undue advantage of his health condition and the crisis in the market to frustrate his business by unlawfully seizing his rent for six years despite repeated appeals.
He added: “As they have no regard for law or even court rulings and being that they are all Igbos, I decided to apply our cultural means of dispute resolution by inviting them before the shrine to recover over N50 million they are owing me in Ladipo.
“I did not go to the shrine for political reinstatement or to force the leadership to vacate as was published.
“And in the case of Onyemaechi, besides the two years rent that he failed to pay, he was invited to the shrine to bring the balance of my money which he forcefully collected from my manager in my shop, as well as to put a stop to the frequent locking of my shops and monthly extortion of over N20,000.”
Okoli advised the caretaker leadership to respect the rule of law and obey court orders, stating that the issues concerning “the leadership crisis are subjects before the courts and should not be ridiculed in the media, as it will amount or be tantamount to contempt of the court. For record purposes, the current executive was a product of Mushin council, after a vacuum that was created when I stopped asides, which runs contrary to our market constitution.”
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