Sit At Home: How Come Main Market Opened On Mondays During The Yuletide And Closed Back Afterwards? – Soludo To Traders.
By Ejike Abana (ABS Government House Correspondent )
Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has reaffirmed the ongoing one-week closure of the Onitsha Main Market, stating it will remain shut until the mandated period is served.
The governor addressed the media in Awka, questioning why the market operated on Mondays during the recent Christmas and New Year holidays but has since resumed observing the unofficial “sit-at-home” lockdowns.
Governor Soludo described the traders’ refusal to open on Mondays as an act of economic sabotage against both Anambra State and the wider South East region, emphasizing that with security largely restored across the state and the over one hundred and fifty security officials within the Onitsha majn market, the continued Monday closures are unjustified.
He pointed out that streets and other businesses are now active on Mondays, labeling the market’s specific closure as a deliberate attempt to redefine the state’s economic calendar.
The governor highlighted his administration’s efforts to end the sit-at-home orders, noting that the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) had itself issued statements against the lockdowns, detailed government interventions, including an amnesty program, a dedicated committee, and the establishment of a Bureau for Missing Persons.
According to him, engagement campaigns were also extended to Anambra indigenes living in cities like Lagos and Abuja, questioning the targeting of major markets in Onitsha and Nnewi, and suggested that many enforcing the closures are not from Anambra.
The Governor warned of severe economic costs to the state, noting that Anambra is one of Nigeria’s largest economies and that the closures cause the state to miss out on significant daily business opportunities, stating that the struggle is to secure Anambra’s future, reassuring investors that the state operates a full five or six-day business week.
Issuing a stern warning, Governor Soludo said the government has been patient but is now prepared to enforce the law, disclosing that a new master plan for the Main Market already exists since 2023 and reminded traders that the government could revoke land allocations under the Land Use Act in the public interest.
The governor concluded by calling on all residents of Anambra and their supporters, including some politicians, to prioritize the state’s future and collective prosperity, framed the market’s closure as a necessity, though painful collateral damage in a larger struggle for the economic soul of Anambra.
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