Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State has ordered the immediate closure of the Onitsha Main Market over the disobedience of traders in the market to the state government’s directive that the weekly sit-at-home order be henceforth disregarded in the state.
The closure will be in place for at least one week.
Governor Soludo who was in Onitsha to monitor compliance to the government’s directive told journalists and residents of Onitsha that “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.
He reiterated that, “We are not going to allow this. He explained that “The closure is a protective measure for law-abiding citizens.”
Anambra State has become the hot-bed of criminal elements who hide under the cloak of the indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) to unleash terror on harmless public. The state has remained the last frontier in the Southeast’s resolve to end the sit-at-home order that has ruined the economy of the region.
Warning traders in the market over the disobidience to the lawful order of the state, Governor Soluto told the traders that, “You either decide that you are going to trade here or you go elsewhere. I am very serious about this.”
Anambra State Government has adopted stringent measures aimed at ensuring that the economy of the state, especially on NMondays are no longer sabotaged by the avoidance of work on Mondays. Part of the measures include a new policy that requires the state ministry of finance to pay civil servants in the state based on the number days they go to work.