The Mayor of Port Harcourt, Honourable Ichemat, has expressed his deep concern during a recent inspection of Rumuwoji (Mile I) Market, where he discovered that toilets had been converted into shops.
Yesterday, Honourable Ichemat, the Chairman of the Port Harcourt City LGA, initiated an inspection of council-managed facilities. His first stop was the renowned Rumuwoji (Mile I) Market, Hitvibz reports.
During the tour, led by Ambassador Eddy Bright, National President of the Reformed Traders Association, and Chief Godspower Omunakwe, Chairman of the Rumuwoji Traders Association, Mayor Ichemat expressed his dismay at discovering that 12 out of the 16 toilets in the market had been converted into shops.
The Mayor was particularly appalled to find traders selling foodstuffs in these makeshift shops, which still contained water closets (WCs) and urinals, emitting foul odours of faeces and urine.
He condemned this practice as highly unsanitary and a potential breeding ground for infections and diseases.
“It is quite unfortunate the discovery I saw here: provisions were made for toilets for customers and traders, not that they were converted to stops and other things in the toilets were removed; visibly, you are seeing the WC there, and people are using it as shops now. It is unhygienic,” the Mayor lamented.
He immediately ordered the closure of these converted shops and mandated that the facilities be restored to their original purpose.
This move aims to provide proper sanitation for the large population of traders, customers, and visitors, thereby eliminating the current unsanitary conditions where people are forced to defecate and urinate openly due to the lack of access to functional restrooms.
Chief Godspower Omunakwe, the market chairman, added that previous administrations, particularly the immediate past Mayor, were responsible for these conversions. 
This led to market visitors resorting to unsanitary practices, such as defecating and urinating under staircases and walkways, thereby spreading germs and diseases.
Mayor Ichemat emphasised that such conditions would no longer be tolerated and reiterated his directive for the immediate restoration of the toilets to their intended use.
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