‘Open Your Shops Monday To Saturday Or Leave Anambra,’ Gov Soludo Tells Traders As Crackdown On Sit-At-Home Begins

Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has issued a stern warning to traders in the state, insisting that they must open their shops for business from Monday to Saturday or relocate elsewhere. The warning came on Monday, as the governor ordered the immediate closure of Onitsha Main Market for one week over traders’ continued observance of the Monday sit-at-home, despite repeated government directives abolishing the practice.

Governor Soludo took the decision during an unscheduled visit to the market, where he observed that a significant number of shops remained shut in defiance of the state government’s order lifting the sit-at-home linked to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Addressing the situation, the governor described the persistent closure of businesses on Mondays as unacceptable and warned that the government would no longer tolerate actions capable of undermining economic activities and public order in the state.

He announced that the market would remain shut for the rest of the week and reopen the following Monday, stressing that traders who fail to resume business on that day would face tougher sanctions. “The Area Commander is here, this whole area, we are going to cordon it off in the first instance for the first one week,” the governor said. “If we come on Monday and any shop is locked, we will lock it for one month. Do you hear what I’m telling you?”

Soludo emphasized that Anambra remains open to everyone but insisted that anyone choosing to do business in the state must comply with its laws. “Anyone who is ready to do business should come, but anyone who is not ready to do business should go. Do you hear me? I don’t know wherever you come from, and wherever you come from, Anambra is open to everybody. Everybody is welcome to trade in Anambra.”

The governor warned that further sanctions would be imposed on any market that continues to defy the order. “But if you must trade here, you must abide by the rules. And the rules are that markets are open Monday to Saturday. If you are not prepared to open your shop Monday to Saturday, then leave Anambra and go elsewhere, period,” he added.

According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Christian Aburime, the closure will last for seven days, during which all trading activities will be suspended to send a clear signal. “This market will be shut down for the remainder of this week. It will not be open tomorrow, it will not be open on Wednesday, on Thursday, or on Friday. It will be open on Monday, and if we come on Monday, for those who decided that they want holidays, we will give them holidays,” Soludo said.

The administration reiterated that Mondays must remain full working days across the state to restore normalcy and revive the economy. This move is part of a broader push to permanently end the sit-at-home phenomenon, with the government warning that similar sanctions, including salary deductions for civil servants, could be applied to other non-compliant institutions.