Governor Soludo shuts Onitsha market for observing Indigenous People of Biafra’s sit-at-home directive
The Governor of Anambra State Prof Charles Soludo has ordered the immediate closure of the Onitsha Main Market for one week, following the traders’ continued compliance with the Indigenous People of Biafra’s sit-at-home directive.
Penpushing reports that Soludo gave the order on Monday in Onitsha shortly after he visited the market, pointing out that the defiance of the market leadership to open was against the government’s directive.
The Governor emphasized that it is the latest and perhaps most drastic approach to determine who controls time and economic life in South-East Nigeria on Mondays.
“The enemy is the long-standing, fear-enforced Monday sit-at-home order, a ghostly mandate from non-state actors that has strangled businesses and normalised weekly Monday sit-at-home for years’, he stated.
“In spite of repeated assurances of enhanced security and appeals to reclaim public spaces, many traders at the iconic market again chose to keep their stalls locked’, Soludo added
Penpushing further reports that the Governor noted that the traders’ absence was not just a quiet rebellion, but one that spoke volumes about the lingering climate of apprehension, explaining that the government could not stand by while a few individuals willfully undermined public safety and disregarded official directives meant to restore normalcy.
The Governor emphasised that if the market did not reopen for business after the one-week shutdown, it would be sealed for a month, and so on, declaring that the traders should resolved either to sell in the market or go elsewhere
“You either decide that you are going to trade here or you go elsewhere. I am very serious about this,” the governor added.
Penpushing also reports that it would be recalled that the Anambra government decided to begin pro rata salary payments to workers across the state as part of efforts to end the Monday sit-at-home directive enforced by the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Meanwhile, while killings associated with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have reduced in the South-East, many residents are still reluctant to open their businesses on Mondays for fear of attack.
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