Onitsha Market Closure: Soludo Explains Rationale, Vows to End Sit-at-Home

Awka, Jan. – Gov. Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra has explained the reasons behind the one-week closure of the Onitsha Main Market, saying the action was taken to protect the state’s economic future and reaffirm that Anambra is open for business six days a week.

Soludo stated this during a live broadcast from the Government House, Awka, on Wednesday.

The governor said the continued observance of sit-at-home on Mondays, despite improved security in the state, amounted to a deliberate effort to undermine the South-East economy.

He noted that markets opened on Mondays during the Yuletide period and enjoyed a peaceful Christmas, but reverted to shutting down afterward.

According to him, the development has negatively affected traders, artisans, farmers and schoolchildren, who now operate on reduced work and school days.

Soludo said his administration had engaged widely with stakeholders since assuming office, including offering amnesty, empowerment programmes and pro-poor policies to ease the burden on residents.

He added that he had also consulted key actors in the past to discourage the sit-at-home, stressing that the practice harms the very people it claims to protect.

The governor alleged that those enforcing the sit-at-home were largely non-residents who perpetrate violence and economic disruption in the state.

He described the practice as “no-work-day” rather than sit-at-home, noting that Monday remains the most important business day of the week and that its loss constitutes economic sabotage against Onitsha, Nnewi and Anambra at large.

He dismissed claims that insecurity prevented market operations, pointing out that significant security presence had been deployed around the Onitsha Main Market.

Soludo also clarified that the issue was not a human rights violation, as the market is owned by the state government, adding that the government could, in overriding public interest, take steps permitted by law if traders refuse to operate on Mondays.

Soludo said the government had shown patience since 2023 but was now determined to restore normal economic activities.

He appealed to residents to support the government in resisting criminal elements and their sponsors, stressing that the matter was about livelihoods, security and prosperity, not politics.

He also disclosed plans to meet with market leaders on Thursday to further engage stakeholders.