The recent statement credited to the Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, Kingsley Chibueze Nwokocha, attempting to exonerate himself from allegations of unauthorized interference in the Ariaria Market Remodelling Project, has once again exposed a disturbing pattern of deception and political desperation.
For the records, Nwokocha ceased to be the Commissioner for Trade and Commerce the very moment His Excellency, Governor Alex Chioma Otti, reassigned him to the Ministry of Labour and Productivity. By constitutional and administrative standards, a commissioner’s committee membership or participation in a sectoral project ends automatically upon reassignment or cabinet reshuffle, unless there is an express reappointment or directive from the Governor’s Office stating otherwise.
Therefore, Nwokocha’s claim of being a member of the Standing Committee on the Ariaria Market Remodelling Project is not only misleading but also a clear overreach and abuse of administrative process. No known gazette, memo, or government circular indicates his continued membership in the said committee after his redeployment.
It is now clear that Mr. Nwokocha’s recent presence at ENITONA Hotel was not borne out of official duty, but a calculated attempt to reassert influence in a ministry he no longer supervises. His attendance at the October 10 meeting, purportedly “chaired by the DG PPP, Sir Chinedu Chijioke,” was a smokescreen designed to legitimize his ongoing meddling in trade affairs and sustain his backdoor control through proxies.
Credible insider information and video evidence already circulating online clearly show that the said meeting was neither convened by the DG PPP, Sir Chijioke nor officially sanctioned by the Ministry of Trade and Commerce. Instead, it was coordinated under the instruction of Mr. Hycenth Nnabude, a known loyalist and puppet of Nwokocha nke acting as the chairman of Ariaria international Market, who has been acting at his behest since the latter’s reassignment.
This pattern suggests a deliberate strategy by Nwokocha to retain informal control over the market’s leadership structure through Hycenth Nnabude, who lacks both the administrative mandate and the technical capacity to summon the traders for any official deliberation.
Multiple video clips and eyewitness accounts confirm that the October 10 meeting was neither properly minuted nor included in the government’s approved stakeholder engagement calendar.
In one of the videos, Nwokocha is seen addressing traders in a tone that implies authority, speaking on matters exclusively under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Trade and Commerce. This contradicts his public statement claiming he played a passive or “introduced” role.
Furthermore, Checkbest International Limited, the contracting firm, has no statutory power to convene or compel market unions without direct authorization from the Ministry of Trade and Commerce.
It is, therefore, laughable that Mr. Nwokocha would try to deflect responsibility by invoking the PPP office while knowing full well that only the ministry under Commissioner Dr. Salome Obiukwu possesses the legal competence to summon or supervise market engagements.
It is imperative that the Office of the Governor and the Ministry of Trade and Commerce immediately issue a clarifying directive to prevent further administrative confusion in the Ariaria Market remodelling Project.
Mr. Nwokocha’s continued interference constitutes a breach of protocol and an encroachment on another commissioner’s portfolio, undermining the professional integrity and order Governor Otti’s administration is known for.
Until such clarification is made, it stands that only the sitting Commissioner for Trade and Commerce, Dr. Salome Obiukwu, or the Permanent Secretary have the lawful authority to interface with traders, contractors, and market leadership under the ongoing remodelling project.
The government must not allow any former appointee or reassigned official to exploit their past privileges to sow confusion, politicize development initiatives, or mislead the public with lies, deceit and fabricated justifications.
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