In 2017, the announcement of a China-style trade hub in Eket stirred high expectations across Akwa Ibom’s business community. For market women, artisans, and entrepreneurs, it was a chance to plug into international commerce and expand their dreams beyond the creaky stalls of local markets. Many eagerly contributed their hard-earned resources, hoping to secure a lock-up shop in what was projected to be a flourishing center of trade.
Eight years later, those dreams now lie buried beneath weeds, rusted iron rods, and thick bureaucratic silence.
What really happened to the Eket China Market, also referred to as the Yiwu International Market? How much was sunk into that project by the state government? Was it truly derailed by a legal tussle, as murmurs in the corridors of power suggest, or is that just a convenient excuse to mask a bigger fraud? Queried By Veritas radio/The Evangelist news.
More importantly, who is profiting from the silence?
This is not just about concrete and steel. The China Market stands today as a symbol of unfulfilled promises. The people who invested in it, both emotionally and financially, deserve answers. They deserve to know if their money has been lost to negligence, politics, or outright fraud.
Yet, those responsible remain tight-lipped. Are they “maintaining table manners,” as the local euphemism goes? If so, it’s a dinner of injustice served cold to the very people the market was meant to empower.
Transparency is not a favor, it is a duty. Who was the contractor? Was due process followed in awarding the project? If indeed a court case stalled the development, who filed it and why has it lingered without public disclosure?
Akwa Ibom people are not asking for miracles. They are demanding accountability. If the project can be revived, let those in power say so, and let the process begin with public involvement. If it cannot, then let those responsible step forward and explain, with evidence, why a multi-million-naira dream was allowed to rot.
Until then, the abandoned China Market remains more than an eyesore. It is a question mark hanging over the conscience of leadership.
And one day soon, those questions must be answered.
