Traders at the Onitsha Main Market in Anambra State have agreed to stop observing the Monday sit at home order following Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s intervention.
The decision was reached after a meeting between the governor and market leaders, where traders pledged to resume business every Monday in line with the state government’s directive.
In a statement, the Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, said market chairman Chijioke Okpalugo assured Soludo of the traders’ support, describing it as part of the governor’s vision for a One Anambra.
Traders, however, raised concerns over security, calling for stronger protection for shoppers and business owners, full operation of motor parks, and firm action against those enforcing the sit at home order.
Soludo promised an overhaul of security arrangements around markets and warned that the practice had moved beyond protest into what he described as a criminal enterprise.
He also presented traders with options to either rebuild the market into a modern facility or carry out a major renovation of existing structures.
Meanwhile, the Onitsha Chamber of Commerce said the market suffered losses running into hundreds of billions of naira during the recent closure.
The Monday sit at home order was first introduced by the Indigenous People of Biafra about four years ago.
