Chief Chris Nkwonta, the All Progressives Grand Alliance candidate for Abia South Senatorial Zone, has promised to rebuild Nkwo Ngwa market before 2019 elections.
Nkwonta said this on Wednesday while briefing journalists at the palace of Eze Ishmael Nnakwu of Etiti Ohazu Autonomous Community in Aba, after he visited the burnt market.
He said that the party had already asked for the details of what was destroyed by the fire and what was needed to help the affected traders come out of their losses.
He said: “To alleviate the sufferings of the traders, we are going to start reconstruction at the market even before the commencement of the 2019 elections.
“As you are aware, our governorship candidate has directed Abraham Oba, member representing Aba Central in the Abia House of Assembly to give him an estimate of what it will take to do some palliatives pending when we will come to power and rebuild it completely.”
Nkwonta said the plight of the traders who lost goods worth millions of naira in the inferno was pitiable at this time of economic hardship.
He said that the huge losses caused by the fire which gutted the 156 shops in the timber and furniture sections of the market could have been reduced if there were access roads to the market.
Nkwonta said: “It was a very unfortunate incident but matters were made worse because there was no access road to the place.
“If there was an access road, I am sure the extent of damage could have been considerably reduced.
“So we went to commiserate with them and assure them that APGA will do everything within our powers to reinstate them to where they were before the incident.”
Nkwonta who said he lost to Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe in 2015 because PDP rigged the election noted that his chance of winning the seat in 2019 was brighter now.
He said that the phasing out of incident forms in 2019 elections to reduce rigging would make his victory over Abaribe easier.
Nkwonta said that APGA was hopeful of victory in 2019 because since 2015, it had developed a blueprint for rebuilding Abia.
In his response, the royal father, Eze Ishmael Nnakwu, thanked them for coming to see him and prayed that God would give them the desire of their hearts.
He pleaded with the party to intervene and ensure that the people of the area would have their roads rehabilitated to ease the carting away of refuse in the area.
The royal father said that there had been an outbreak of scabies among their children for some time now because of the effect of the environment on their health and asked for assistance.
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