To enforce the state’s ban on the controversial Monday sit-at-home, Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo has ordered the immediate closure of Onitsha Main Market and neighbouring markets for an initial period of one week.
The governor warned that if traders fail to reopen after the first week, the government will extend the closure for another week and, if necessary, for longer periods.
Addressing traders at the market on Monday, Soludo said authorities would lock the entire main market and adjoining markets for the week and conduct inspections every Monday. He added that officials would shut any shop found closed during inspections.
Soludo stated that he was prepared to keep the market closed for the rest of the year if traders continued to defy government directives. He described the sit-at-home practice as economic sabotage and said the government viewed the refusal to open shops as potentially linked to criminal intent.
The closure follows repeated non-compliance by traders who continued to shut their shops on Mondays despite warnings to ignore the sit-at-home order imposed by non-state actors.
According to the governor, the decision aims to send a clear message, protect law-abiding citizens and reassert the authority of the state. He said the government would not tolerate actions that undermine public safety or disrupt efforts to restore normal economic activity.
Soludo noted that markets and offices operate freely in other parts of the state and expressed concern that Onitsha Main Market, once regarded as the largest in West Africa, remained closed on Mondays. He insisted that the practice would no longer continue in Anambra and urged traders to either open their shops or relocate their businesses.
The Monday sit-at-home, which has persisted for about four years, has disrupted economic and social life across the South-East. The Soludo administration has repeatedly condemned the practice, describing it as harmful to the region’s economy.
Security agencies, including the police and the army, were deployed to secure the market gates and enforce the closure. Although the governor formally declared the sit-at-home ended in April 2022 and called on residents to resume normal activities, some traders have continued to stay away from their shops out of fear.