No more sit-at-home, Onitsha Main Market traders assure Soludo

Traders at the Onitsha Main Market have pledged to end their observance of the Monday sit-at-home, declaring their readiness to resume full business activities in line with the directive of the Anambra State Government.

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They made the pledge on Thursday during an interactive session between Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo and market leaders from across the state.

The meeting followed the recent closure of the Onitsha Main Market and the prolonged Monday shutdown that has crippled commercial activities in the South-East.

Chairman of Onitsha Main Market, Mr. Chijioke Okpalugo, who spoke on behalf of the traders, said they were prepared to commence Monday operations in support of the governor’s vision of a “One Anambra,” but appealed for enhanced security to guarantee the safety of lives and property.

Governor Soludo, in his remarks, declared that all markets and shops in Anambra State must remain open on every working day, including Mondays, stressing that the era of sit-at-home-induced market closures was over.

Addressing Onitsha traders specifically, Soludo presented a “renovate or rebuild” option for the market, offering either a complete redevelopment into a modern trading hub or a comprehensive overhaul of existing structures.

The Governor insisted that business activities must continue irrespective of the option chosen.

Soludo described the enforcement of the sit-at-home as a criminal enterprise no longer connected to the agitation for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, dismissing claims that the order was linked to the detained IPOB leader.

“It is not linked to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. He does not support the sit-at-home. If it doesn’t happen in Umuahia, his hometown, why Onitsha and Nnewi?” the Governor asked.

He further alleged that many of those enforcing the sit-at-home were not indigenes of Anambra State and warned that the government would deploy extreme measures if defiance persisted.

Responding, market leaders requested a visible and sustained security presence in markets, full operation of motor parks to facilitate the movement of buyers and goods, and decisive action against individuals who benefit from or enforce the sit-at-home order.

Soludo assured traders of an overhaul of the state’s security architecture around markets, pledging that Anambra’s commercial centres would be protected from harassment and intimidation.

“Igboland and Anambra will move forward,” Soludo declared.