The governor of Anambra State, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has said there is no going back on the order to shut down the Main Market in Onitsha, a decision that has generated tension in the state since it was made on Monday, following traders’ refusal to resume business on a sit-at home day.
Soludo in a press briefing on Wednesday 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 are gotten aright.
He said: “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. They go for meetings on Monday, go to the stadium to exercise and they do not fear insecurity.
“Why is their target Nnewi and Onitsha? The 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 the 2021 protest over the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), but said that he visited Kanu in prison and he was unhappy about the decision and called for an end to the order.
“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 Prof. Chidi Odinkalu and they have submitted their report and we have been implementing it.
“We also discovered that the people outside are the ones fueling 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.
“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 what the government is losing in terms of revenue, Soludo said the cost is much, but not about government revenue, but about the economy of the poor people and the overall stability of the state.
“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 shutdown and use my Mondays to sleep too.”
Soludo insisted that some politicians were behind the the efforts to sabotage the state in the hope that they will score some political points with it.
“Some politicians are involved and they think it’s politics. It is not about politics, it is about security, the interest and future of our state. It is about our prosperity, it is about our security, it is about the poor people who must go out before they can feed.
“For now, we will not name the politicians who are sponsoring them. At least for now, but very soon we will name them. They are doing this because they think they can score political points by sponsoring this.
“This economic sabotage must not continue. In 2022 and 2023 we were busy strategizing on how we would deal with the insecurity in our land. In 2024 and 2025, we used it to launch onslaught on criminals, and today I can say that Anambra is the safest state. Even if our enemies do not agree, they will count us among the safest states in Nigeria. This 2026 is for fighting sit at home. It is either they open their shops or we revoke their ownership.
“If it gets to this point, we will ask them to come and show us their documents of ownership of the shops, and I will personally scrutinize it myself. Most of those documents, we know how they came about.
“For those shouting “show me the law where you can close our shops”, I want to say that they should be ready when I show it to them. I will also show them the law that empowers me to revoke that market and use it for whatever is better for the state. I can revoke that market, pay compensation to people who have private structures there and use it for even an annex of Agunechemba Security if I like.
“I hope that push will not come to shove, but in the next two weeks, we will start recertification. A lot of people want shops in that market, so if you are not ready to open shops, go elsewhere. We will revoke your shops and give it to people who are willing to open,” a defiant Soludo stated.
