CALABAR— The Cross River State Government has banned roadside trading around Watt Market and along the Calabar Road axis of Calabar, directing traders operating on the streets to relocate into the market.
The Commissioner for Environment, Bassey Mensah, disclosed this while speaking with journalists on the government’s renewed efforts to tackle roadside trading and environmental nuisance across the state capital.
Mensah said the decision followed an assessment of the Watt Market area carried out by officials of the state government and the Calabar South Local Government Council.
He said the assessment showed that there were spaces within the market where traders could operate, insisting that traders should not use public roads and streets as extensions of their businesses.
According to him, the government had reached an understanding with the Calabar South council that trading would no longer be allowed on the streets around Calabar Road, Watt Market, Bedwell and Goldie.
He, however, said the government would allow the existing evening market to operate from 5pm, while daytime roadside trading would remain prohibited.
The commissioner also clarified that the restriction extended to areas such as Nelson Mandela Street, where traders had also been operating during the day.
Mensah said the enforcement was not targeted at any particular group of traders, but was part of the government’s responsibility to regulate the environment and prevent the conversion of public roads into trading spaces.
He said the government had also inaugurated a special task force to enforce the directive, adding that the team had already embarked on sensitisation visits to traders and market women ahead of the commencement of enforcement.
“We cannot convert every place in Calabar to market square,” the commissioner said, stressing that public roads must remain accessible to motorists and other road users.
Mensah said the task force would begin enforcement after the sensitisation exercise, warning that traders who returned to the streets after the directive would face arrest and possible prosecution.
He also raised concern over individuals allegedly collecting daily payments from roadside traders, saying such activities could encourage traders to remain on the streets.
The commissioner said the Calabar South chairman had denied knowledge of the collection of levies from roadside traders operating around Watt Market.
He therefore warned that anyone collecting money from such traders without authorisation would be acting illegally.
Mensah said the state government was also engaging the police and other relevant agencies as part of efforts to ensure compliance with the directive.
He said the government’s concern was not limited to Watt Market, noting that similar enforcement measures were being extended to other parts of Calabar where roadside trading had created environmental and traffic challenges.
According to him, the task force had also visited the MCC area, while interventions were being pursued around Mariam Market and Eight Miles.
The commissioner said the government was working with the relevant local government authorities to address roadside trading in those locations.
On complaints by some traders that the interior of Watt Market was not conducive, particularly during the rainy season, Mensah said the maintenance of the market was primarily the responsibility of the Calabar South Local Government Council.
He explained that the state Ministry of Environment was concerned mainly with environmental issues and not the day-to-day management of the market.
Mensah urged journalists to also obtain the views of the Calabar South chairman, market leadership and affected traders in reporting the issue.
He said the enforcement was a regulatory measure and should not be interpreted through political considerations.
The commissioner maintained that the government would continue to enforce environmental regulations regardless of political calculations, stressing that public roads should not be used for trading.
He added that the government was also considering alternative trading arrangements for some categories of traders, including food sellers operating around the Mobile area, as part of a broader effort to reduce roadside trading in Calabar.
