Soludo: Onitsha Market Remains Closed

• Says sit-at-home deliberate sabotage caused by some politicians, vows to name them soon 

•Warns he can revoke ownership of shops who fail to comply

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, said there was no going back on the order to shut Main Market, Onitsha.

The decision had generated tension in the state since it was made on Monday following the traders’ observance of Monday’s sit-at-home order by Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Soludo, in a press briefing yesterday, described the continual stay at home by traders in the market as economic sabotage and would not be allowed to continue.

He insisted that even if it meant revoking the ownership of shops of those who failed to comply or even taking total possession of the market and demolishing it, he would do it to ensure that things were gotten right.

Soludo stated, “I want to say that the Monday sit-at-home is deliberate economic sabotage and would not be allowed to continue. Throughout the yuletide the market was open from Monday down to Saturday and in most cases opened on Sundays, too.

“For people who say the Monday decision is because of insecurity, why were there no incidences when traders opened all through the week? Now that normal businesses have commenced, they have started their Monday sabotage.  If they go for meetings on Monday, go to stadium to exercise and they do not fear insecurity.”

The governor also said, “Why is their target Nnewi and Onitsha? Majority of those doing it are not from Anambra. As I drove to Onitsha on Monday, all markets were open. In most cases there was street trading and it was even difficult for us to meander our way.

“Other markets were open and I drove through Ochanja, but the major target is Onitsha Main Market. When we got there, it was not open. We think this is deliberate and it has to end.”

The governor traced the history of the sit-at-home order on Mondays to 2021 in protest against the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of IPOB, but said he visited Kanu in prison and he was unhappy with the decision and called for an end to the order.

Soludo disclosed, “I visited Kanu and he was unhappy about it. I confronted him with the question (sit-at-home order) and he told me it was wrong. We later met with the stakeholders, constituted the Justice Peace Committee, which was headed by Professor Chidi Odinkalu, and they have submitted their report and we have been implementing it.

“We also discovered that the people outside are the ones fuelling it and we have held town hall meetings to tell them they are killing the homeland. You cannot distort the growth of people and education, the same people you said you are fighting for.”

The governor added, “We announced amnesty programme and 15,400 youths came out and we have rehabilitated them. We are working to give young people a life and other people are there working to give them pain.

“The rest of the world cannot adjust to our own calendar, we cannot operate a four-day economy and hope to compete with people operating six days of the week. So we must stop. This is not because of fear of insecurity, because we have over 150 security personnel working in the main market only.”

Speaking on the what the government was losing in terms of revenue, Soludo said the cost was much, but it was not merely about government revenue, but about the economy of the poor people and the overall stability of the state.

He said, “The cost is much and not as a result of loss in taxes, because Onitsha generates pittance. I’m talking about the larger economy, which is more on the traders themselves.

“Monday is the most important day of the week and if we continue, our economy will continue to come down. We can’t train our children in a school system that runs four days a week.

“I’m concerned because you gave me the mandate to be your Chief Servant. If not, what do I lose? I can as well shut down and use my Mondays to sleep too.”