By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has doubled down on his decision to close the Onitsha Main Market for one week following traders’ continued compliance with the Monday sit-at-home order.
The Monday sit-at-home was initiated in 2021 by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the South-East to protest the arrest and detention of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
The governor criticised the order, saying it has no legal backing and was crippling businesses and livelihoods in the state.
He subsequently ordered that marketplaces, schools, workplaces and other public and private establishments resume activities on Mondays.
On Monday, January 26, the governor ordered the closure of the popular market, accusing traders of deliberately ignoring the directive not to comply with the sit-at-home order.
Residents and traders embarked on protests across the state, including barricading the Head Bridge, which led to hours of gridlock on the route.
At a news conference on Thursday, January 29, Soludo noted that the traders’ decision to stay off business premises on Monday despite prior warnings from the government to end adherence to the sit-at-home order signalled economic sabotage.
He added that the state does not operate a four-day work week, warning those who would not comply with the directive to leave the state.
The governor said, “This is a struggle for the soul of Anambra’s future. Almost 80 per cent of the people have given us a mandate to protect and promote their welfare and security, and that we must remain committed to doing 24 by seven, every day, because Monday is almost the most important day of the week. That’s when suppliers, the people demanding for goods, that’s when they must go and open up.
“So if you are not opening, people are relocating elsewhere. That’s what we mean by the cost to the state. The place will keep getting down and down economically.
“And like I said before, we are not going to train our children in the 21st century by going to school four days a week. Absolute nonsense! This obviously has stopped.
“We’re going to open the schools, and we are going to take the same measures. You are running a private school, if you are not open, I come and slam it and lock it up. Because we have given you the permission to operate there as a school and in Anambra, the school days are Monday through Friday.”
Soludo described the sit-at-home order as a “calculated economic sabotage” to bring down Anambra, a state he said is one of Nigeria’s top five economies.
