633
By Lizzy Chirkpi
Security agencies have been placed on alert across Anambra State following Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s directive ordering the immediate shutdown of Onitsha Main Market over traders’ continued compliance with the illegal Monday sit-at-home order.
The state government said the decisive action was taken to halt what it described as deliberate economic sabotage, after weeks of warnings to traders, market leaders, transport operators and residents to disengage from the sit-at-home directive, which officials insist has no lawful backing and has continued to cripple economic activities in the state.
The market closure, which will initially last one week, carries a sterner consequence if traders fail to fully resume business operations by next Monday. Government officials warned that the shutdown would be extended to one month, a development expected to significantly disrupt supply chains across Anambra State, the South-East and other parts of the country.
“This is no longer about fear or compliance under duress. It is about restoring law, order, and economic sanity in Anambra State,” a senior government official said.
Onitsha Main Market, widely regarded as one of the largest commercial hubs in West Africa, serves as a major trading centre for millions of traders, manufacturers and consumers nationwide.
The Anambra State Government maintained that continued observance of the sit-at-home order undermines public safety initiatives, emboldens criminal elements and projects the state as unsafe for business and investment.
Officials also issued a stern warning to market unions, transport operators and individuals suspected of enforcing, promoting or aiding the sit-at-home order, stressing that violators would face legal and regulatory sanctions.
Security agencies, it was gathered, have been deployed to ensure strict compliance with the directive and to provide protection for traders willing to open their shops and conduct lawful business.
While some traders welcomed the government’s firm stance, describing it as long overdue, others expressed fear and uncertainty, citing lingering security concerns and previous incidents of violence linked to resistance against sit-at-home orders.
In response, the state government reassured residents of adequate security arrangements, urging traders to cooperate in the interest of collective economic survival.
“As a government, we cannot continue to allow criminally induced shutdowns to destroy livelihoods and weaken our economy,” another official stated.
The development follows earlier warnings by Governor Soludo to civil servants that any worker who refuses to report for duty on Mondays would forfeit their salaries, as part of broader measures to end the sit-at-home culture in the state.
As the countdown to next Monday begins, attention now shifts to Onitsha Main Market, where traders’ response to the directive may shape the economic direction of Anambra State in the coming weeks.