Traders at the Onitsha Main Market have resumed business after a one-week shutdown, following directives from Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo.
The reopening comes amid heightened security measures and warnings against compliance with non-state actors, Indigenous People of Biafra sit-at-home orders.
The market was previously ordered closed by Soludo after reports suggested that some traders were following a Monday sit-at-home call issued by IPOB.
The governor had warned that failure to reopen could lead to further closures.
“Traders of the Onitsha Main Market have reopened their shops in compliance with a directive by the Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo,” a report by Channels Television on Monday said.
A visit to the market by Channels Television revealed that many traders were back as early as 8:45 a.m., setting up wares from Egerton to Ose Foodstuff Market and The Young Park, a major entrance to the Main Market. Observers noted that areas including Emeka Offor Plaza, Sokoto Road, Lagos Line, and Marine were active, with customers beginning to patronize shops.
“It is clear that the traders are complying with government directives to ignore the sit-at-home order,” the report added.
The proscribed IPOB had called for a lockdown across the South-East in solidarity with Onitsha traders. The group, through its spokesman Emma Powerful, urged traders, transporters, banks, schools, and civil servants to observe the strike peacefully.
