ANAMBRA State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has ordered the immediate closure of the Onitsha Main Market for one week following traders’ continued defiance of the state government’s directive to resume normal business activities on Mondays.
News Point Nigeria reports that the governor issued the directive on Monday during an unscheduled on-the-spot assessment of the market, accompanied by senior government officials and security chiefs, after observing that a large number of shops remained shut in apparent compliance with the outlawed sit-at-home order.
Soludo described the action as a necessary enforcement measure aimed at restoring economic normalcy and breaking what he called a lingering culture of fear that has crippled commercial activities across the South-East.
According to the governor, despite repeated assurances of enhanced security and sustained appeals to traders to return to work, many merchants once again chose to stay away, effectively paralysing one of West Africa’s largest commercial hubs.
“The government cannot stand by while a few individuals willfully undermine public safety and disregard official directives meant to restore normalcy. This is plain economic sabotage,” Soludo declared.
He warned that the closure could be extended if traders fail to reopen after the one-week shutdown, stressing that the state would not hesitate to impose stricter sanctions to enforce compliance.
“We are not going to allow this. This closure is a protective measure for law-abiding citizens,” he said.
Issuing a sterner warning, the governor added that failure to resume full operations after the one-week period would result in the market being sealed for an entire month.
“You either decide that you are going to trade here or you go elsewhere. I am very serious about this,” Soludo said.
Following the directive, a joint security task force comprising personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army and other security agencies was deployed to secure the market and enforce the shutdown. The gates of the market were locked as traders and buyers were barred from entry.
The closure marks one of the most forceful interventions yet by the Soludo administration in its long-running effort to dismantle the Monday sit-at-home practice, which authorities say has continued to damage the region’s economy despite official pronouncements declaring it illegal.
As the market remains shut throughout the week, attention will now shift to next Monday, when traders are expected to return to their stalls. The outcome is widely seen as a test of whether the government’s hardline approach will succeed in reclaiming public spaces or deepen resistance rooted in fear and insecurity.
The state government had earlier directed all markets, banks, schools and businesses to operate normally on Mondays as part of broader efforts to restore economic stability and investor confidence in Anambra.
Meanwhile, News Point Nigeria had reported that the Anambra State Government is introducing pro-rata salary payments for civil servants as an additional measure to discourage participation in sit-at-home observances.
The Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, disclosed that from February 2026, salaries of civil servants would be tied to attendance on Mondays. According to him, the decision was taken during the end-of-tenure retreat of the Anambra State Executive Council held in Awka.
Mefor explained that the retreat reviewed the administration’s four-year performance and outlined key priorities ahead of the new tenure beginning on March 17, 2026, with restoring full economic activity identified as a critical focus.