Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has ordered the closure of the Onitsha Predominant Marketplace for one week following merchants’ failure to adjust to the state authorities’s directive to ignore the Monday sit-at-home order.
The governor gave the directive on Monday throughout an on-site go to to the market, together with a few of his aides and different authorities officers.
Soludo warned that the closure may very well be prolonged if merchants fail to adjust to the directive, including that safety businesses have sealed the market to implement the order.
The governor described the event as the most recent—and maybe most drastic—salvo in a protracted wrestle over management of {economic} life within the South-East on Monday.
Soludo mentioned that regardless of repeated assurances of enhanced safety and appeals to reclaim public areas, many merchants on the iconic market as soon as once more selected to maintain their stalls locked.
In keeping with him, their absence amounted to a quiet rise up that nonetheless spoke volumes concerning the lingering local weather of concern.
Soludo mentioned, “The federal government can’t stand by whereas a couple of people willfully undermine public security and disrespect official directives meant to revive normalcy. That is plain {economic} sabotage.
“We aren’t going to permit this. The closure is a protecting measure for law-abiding residents.”
He, nonetheless, issued a stern warning that if the market fails to reopen after the one-week shutdown, will probably be sealed for one month.
“You both determine that you’re going to commerce right here otherwise you go elsewhere. I’m very critical about this,” the governor added.
The scene on the market on Monday was marked by tense enforcement, as a joint job drive comprising police, military, and different safety businesses was seen securing the perimeter.
Because the gates stay locked this week, the standoff in Onitsha highlights the broader wrestle to abolish the Monday sit-at-home.
When the market is scheduled to reopen subsequent Monday, consideration might be on the merchants—whether or not they’ll return to their stalls following the state’s present of drive, or whether or not empty aisles will ship a special verdict.
The result could decide not simply the destiny of the market, however the rhythm of {economic} life in Anambra State on Mondays.
The Anambra State Authorities had mentioned it could start pro-rata wage funds for employees throughout the state as a part of efforts to finish the Monday sit-at-home.
The state Commissioner for Data, Regulation Mefor, disclosed this to journalists in Awka, noting that efficient February 2026, civil servants’ salaries could be paid based on attendance on Mondays.
Mefor mentioned the choice was reached in the course of the end-of-tenure retreat of the Anambra State Govt Council held in Awka, which reviewed the administration’s actions over its concluding four-year tenure and outlined priorities for the brand new time period starting on March 17, 2026.
In the meantime, Mefor later,.in one other assertion, disclosed that the state loses about N8 billion whereas the complete South-East area loses about N19.6 billion each week as a result of persistent Monday sit-at-home.
Mefor mentioned that, consequently, the state authorities has shut the Onitsha Predominant Marketplace for one week following merchants’ failure to adjust to the state authorities’s directive to ignore the Monday sit-at-home order.