{"id":911,"date":"2026-07-12T19:30:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T18:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=911"},"modified":"2026-07-12T19:30:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T18:30:44","slug":"abraka-festival-disrupts-businesses-as-traders-count-losses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=911","title":{"rendered":"Abraka Festival Disrupts Businesses as Traders Count Losses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Kennedy Margaret<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mixed reactions have trailed the 2026 Ovwuvwe Festival in Abraka, Ethiope East Local
Government Area of Delta State, as many shop owners reported significant financial losses
despite the cultural celebration attracting large crowds to the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The annual festival, held on May 19, transformed major streets in Abraka into centres of
cultural displays, traditional dances and masquerade performances. While residents and
visitors celebrated the event, many traders said the festivities disrupted commercial
activities and forced several businesses to close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Business owners operating around Police Station Junction, Lucas Road and Abraka Market
said security concerns, road closures and reduced customer access prevented them from
carrying out their normal trading activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Mrs. Florence Akabuaku, who owns a provision store near Abraka Market, said although
she appreciates the importance of preserving the community’s cultural heritage, the festival
negatively affected her business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> DELSU-SUG Lists NELFUND Implementation As Key Achievement For 2025\/2026 Session<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I understand the value of culture and celebration, but because of the security concerns
associated with the festival, I could only open my shop without displaying my goods. I lost
nearly \u20a620,000 in expected sales,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Similarly, a clothing vendor identified simply as Mr. Culture described the situation as
unfair to traders who depend on daily sales for survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


“I could not even open my shop because of the festival. People like us rely on daily income,
so losing an entire day’s business is difficult,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


By midday, many shops around the town had already shut their doors as customers stayed
away and movement became restricted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> Abraka Traders Restrategise To Cushion Economic Challenge<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, not everyone recorded losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


A roadside food vendor near Police Station Junction said the influx of visitors significantly
boosted her sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


“I sold everything I prepared and even had to cook more. People were eating and drinking
throughout the celebration. I made over \u20a650,000 that day, compared to my normal earnings
of about \u20a610,000,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another trader, popularly known as Mummy Kevwe, expressed concern over the impact
of the festival on traders dealing in perishable goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> Students Lament Rising Cost Of Living In Abraka, Sellers Blame Inflationary Economy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I was worried my tomatoes and peppers would spoil if they were not sold. We support our
culture, but traders should not have to bear heavy financial losses because of it,” she said.
Some students also experienced inconveniences during the celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


A Delta State University student, Peculiar, said the festival made it difficult for residents
to purchase essential items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


“I enjoyed the celebration as an indigene, but I couldn’t find any shop open to buy food
items for cooking,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Festival organisers defended the event, arguing that its benefits extend beyond immediate
commercial gains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> Dilapidated Roads, Flooding Disrupt Daily Life In Abraka\u2026Residents Seek Govt Intervention<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the organisers said the celebration promotes cultural identity, youth participation
and community unity while attracting visitors from neighbouring towns such as Eku,
Sapele and Agbor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


“The festival promotes our heritage and brings people together. While some businesses
may be affected temporarily, the long-term cultural value is much greater,” the organiser
said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The festival, organised by local cultural groups with support from the Ethiope East Local
Government Council, featured traditional dances, masquerade processions and other
cultural activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Although commercial activities have since returned to normal, many traders have called
on organisers to adopt measures that will minimise disruption to businesses during future
editions of the festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> DELSU Records Major ICT Breakthroughs Under Asagba\u2019s Administration
<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kennedy Margaret Mixed reactions have trailed the 2026 Ovwuvwe Festival in Abraka, Ethiope East LocalGovernment Area of Delta State, as many shop owners reported significant financial lossesdespite the cultural celebration attracting large crowds to the community. The annual festival, held on May 19, transformed major streets in Abraka into centres ofcultural displays, traditional dances […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":913,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":7,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[31,229,25,230],"class_list":["post-911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abrakametro","category-trendingnews","tag-abraka","tag-culture","tag-delsu","tag-festival"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=911"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":915,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/911\/revisions\/915"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}