The Anambra State Government has stepped up enforcement efforts against illegal market structures, directing market leaders across major commercial centres in the state to comply with Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s urban renewal and market reorganisation policy.
The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Barrister Chijioke Ojukwu, issued the directive during an inspection visit to Nkwo Agbo-Edo Market in Nnewi, where officials of the ministry marked several shanties and unauthorized structures for demolition.
According to the commissioner, the exercise is aimed at restoring markets to their approved layouts, ensuring adequate access roads, parking spaces, and improved movement within market environments. He noted that the initiative aligns with the government’s broader efforts to promote orderliness, safety, and proper infrastructure development across markets in the state.
Ojukwu lamented that the proliferation of illegal structures has obstructed free movement in many markets and warned that all future developments within market premises must receive official approval from the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development before construction begins.
He therefore urged market executives and leaders to intensify awareness campaigns among traders and shop owners, encouraging them to voluntarily remove unauthorized structures to avoid sanctions and demolition.
In response, the Chairman of Agbo-Edo Market F-Line, Mr. Chukwudi Oranekwu, acknowledged that Governor Chukwuma Soludo had previously engaged market leaders on the matter. He assured the government that market authorities would strengthen sensitisation efforts to ensure traders comply with the directive.
Angel Network News (ANN) reports that
the latest action reflects Anambra state government’s continuing drive to improve urban planning standards, decongest markets, and create safer and more accessible trading environments across the State.
