Soludo Shuts Onitsha Main Market, Vows Tough Sanctions Over Monday Sit-At-Home

Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has ordered the immediate closure of the Onitsha Main Market and its adjoining markets for one week to enforce compliance with the state’s directive against the illegal Monday sit-at-home order.

The governor announced the shutdown on Monday while addressing traders at the market, warning that the closure would be extended if shop owners failed to resume business at the end of the one-week period.

He stressed that any continued defiance would attract stiffer sanctions, including prolonged closure of the market.

Soludo declared that the sit-at-home had become an act of economic sabotage and a threat to public order, insisting that the state government would no longer tolerate the practice.

He said the government would carry out weekly inspections and that any shop found closed on Mondays would be sealed for one week.

According to the governor, while government offices and markets in other parts of the state were open and operating normally, it was unacceptable that Onitsha Main Market, reputed as one of the largest in West Africa, would remain shut due to fear and unlawful directives by non-state actors.

He maintained that traders must either operate fully in line with government directives or vacate the market, adding that the state would not allow criminal elements to dictate economic life in Anambra.

Security agencies, including the police and the military, were subsequently deployed to lock the market gates and enforce the shutdown.

The Monday sit-at-home, which has been observed intermittently in parts of the South-East for about four . The Soludo administration has consistently condemned the practice, describing it as illegal and harmful to the region’s economy.

Since assuming office, the governor has taken steps to restore normalcy, including declaring the sit-at-home over in 2022, granting amnesty to youths in hiding, and setting up peace and reconciliation mechanisms.

He has repeatedly assured residents of improved security and urged them to go about their lawful activities without fear.