Comrade Segun Lawal has emerged as the newly elected chairman of Traders and Artisans Association of Kaura Market in Abuja.
The Association held its election on Monday, December 12, 2022 where Lawal won with 267 votes against his opponent who scored 25 votes.
The free and fair election was monitored by personnel of the Nigerian Police Force, Department of State Services (DSS) and private security outfits.
In his victory speech, Lawal said, “The first thing I want to do is to carry out massive advertisement of the market itself. Many people do not know that a market exists here. I intend to mount a big bill board of the market for people to know that there is a market in this area. We will ensure constant light and water in the market and I will run all inclusive government by carrying everybody along so that business will be smoothly run.
He said four persons indicated interest to contest for the chairmanship but along the line, two aspirants were disqualified during screening by the electoral committee.
Asked if there were crises among the aspirants, he said, “We have faced a lot of challenges in the run up to this election. Someone dragged me to court but, in all, we are handling it maturely. I believe everything will be alright after today’s election.
“The aggrieved persons are intimidated by my popularity among traders and the way I organise myself in the market. They feel bad when some traders have started calling me “chairman” when election has not taking place.
“But having won the election today and it has come and gone, I call on all the aggrieved persons to join us in our development plans for the market. Together, we can make the market a better business environment for the benefit of every member.”
The market Board of Trustees Chairman, Mr Andrew Anyayetim said, “The election was free and fair. It’s something that Nigeria government should copy to replicate in 2023 general elections.
“From the accreditation to voting process, everything was perfect hitch-free. We carried everybody along. The turnout of voters was massive and that shows the elected are the choice of the people.”
He advised the newly elected executives to always listen to the people who have voted them and carry everybody along in the affairs of running the market.
