Traders at the Onitsha Main Market and other commercial centres across Anambra State have announced their decision to resume business activities on Mondays, signalling an end to the long-running sit-at-home practice that has disrupted economic life in the South-East.
The resolution was reached on Thursday during an interactive meeting between market leaders and the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, following the recent closure of the Onitsha Main Market and weeks of restricted trading linked to the Monday shutdown.
Speaking after the meeting, the Chairman of Onitsha Main Market, Chijioke Okpalugo, said traders had agreed to reopen fully on Mondays in line with the governor’s directive. He noted, however, that traders were seeking stronger security measures to ensure the safety of lives and property as commercial activities resume.
According to Okpalugo, market leaders appealed for a visible and sustained security presence within markets, the full operation of motor parks to ease the movement of goods and customers, and firm action against those who profit from or enforce the sit-at-home order. He said traders had suffered significant financial losses since the practice began and were determined to support the state government’s efforts to restore normalcy.
Governor Soludo, in his remarks, declared that all markets and shops across Anambra State must remain open on all working days, including Mondays. He assured traders that the state government would strengthen security around commercial areas to protect them from intimidation and harassment.
The governor also outlined plans for the future of the Onitsha Main Market, offering traders the option of a complete redevelopment into a modern facility or a comprehensive renovation of existing structures. He stressed that business activities would continue regardless of the option chosen.
Soludo described the enforcement of the sit-at-home as a criminal enterprise, insisting that it had no connection with the agitation for the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu. He added that Kanu did not support the order and questioned why it persisted in cities such as Onitsha and Nnewi.
The governor further alleged that many of those enforcing the sit-at-home were not indigenes of Anambra State and warned that the government would take decisive measures if defiance continued.
