The leadership of Onitsha Main Market has agreed to end the observance of the Monday sit-at-home following negotiations with the Anambra State Government after the recent closure of the market by Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
The agreement was reached when Governor Soludo hosted leaders of the market, during which the Chairman of Onitsha Main Market, Mr. Chijioke Okpalugo, assured the government that traders would comply with the directive to resume business activities every Monday. However, the market leadership raised concerns about logistics and security challenges that must be addressed to ensure full compliance.
In a statement issued by the Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Law Mefor, Okpalugo said the traders were committed to aligning with the governor’s vision of a “One Anambra” and restoring uninterrupted commercial activities in the state. The traders also presented key demands, including enhanced security for traders and customers, the full reopening of motor parks to attract buyers from within and outside the state, and decisive action against individuals who profit from enforcing the sit-at-home order.
Governor Soludo, according to the statement, reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to protecting Anambra’s commercial centres and promised a comprehensive overhaul of the security architecture across markets to prevent intimidation and harassment. “Igbo land and Anambra will move forward,” the governor declared.
Soludo also presented the traders with a “renovate or rebuild” ultimatum, offering the option of demolishing existing structures to construct a new, world-class trading hub or embarking on a massive modernisation of the market.
He warned that the sit-at-home enforcement had degenerated from a political protest into a criminal enterprise and stated that those enforcing it were largely non-indigenes. The government, he said, would deploy extreme measures if defiance continued.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Chinedu Nwonu, revealed that the market recorded losses exceeding ₦200 billion during the six-day closure, citing both direct revenue losses and missed business opportunities.
The market was shut last Monday after traders continued observing the sit-at-home order initially declared four years ago by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
