Traders in Onitsha Main Market on Monday complied with the order of the state governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, and opened their shops, shunning the counter-directive of the Indigenous People of Biafra to observe their regular every Monday sit-at-home.
Sources at the Onitsha Main Market, however, told LEADERSHIP that the traders actually stayed away from entering the markets until around 10 am when they discovered that there was tight security in the market, and, therefore, came and started opening their shops.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that the situation was different at some other major markets in the state’s commercial hub, especially in Ochanja and Relief Market, where LEADERSHIP learnt that only a few of the traders opened shops, most of whom, according to sources in the markets, were the leaders of the markets, including the chairman and Line Chairmen.
One of the leaders of the Relief Market told LEADERSHIP by phone at about 2pm that many of the traders who had come and opened their shops had already started returning home because customers had not arrived.
When contacted by phone, the chairman of the Onitsha Main Market, Chief Chijioke Igboanyaka, confirmed that he was in his office in the market and that there was no threat at all.
“I am in my office in the market, and there is no threat anywhere in the market”, Chief Igboanyaka said.
The public relations officer of the Anambra state police command (PPRO), Superintendent of police, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, who told newsmen in Onitsha Main Market that the state commissioner of police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, directed him to represent him at the market to make sure there was adequate security in the market.
Sources said there were low business transactions in the Onitsha Main Market and in all the other markets in the commercial town because many customers did not come to the markets, probably due to fear of possible attacks by the IPOB.
“There was no normal bustling of businesses because many customers did not come.
“You know that the IPOB warned that everyone should sit-at-home today in the whole of the South East.
“So, people who normally come from Enugu, Imo, Ebonyi, Asaba, and even from the North to purchase goods did not come to the market”, a source told LEADERSHIP.
Following Soludo’s order lifting the one-week closure of the market, and directing all he traders to reopen their shops, a faction of the IPOB, through the organisation’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful, had issued a counter order directing that a sit-at-home should be observed in the entire South East region yesterday (the same Monday Soludo directed traders to reopen shops).
Emma Powerful said the sit-at-home was to show solidarity with the Onitsha Main Market traders, whose shops were closed for one week by the Anambra state government.
But Chief Ifeanyi Ejiofor, lead lawyer to the IPOB leader, Maxi Nnamdi Kanu, had countered Emma Powerful’s order, directing traders to comply with the Anambra state government’s directive and open their shops.
Ejiofor said the IPOB leader opposed the sit-at-home because it undermined the economic welfare of the people of the South East and the region’s economy as a whole.
As at the time of filing this report, sources in the Onitsha Main Market said that the state governor, Soludo, arrived at the market at about 2:30 pm, accompanied by heavy security and was personally going round the market supervising those who opened their shops.
Also, there was no record of any attack or casualty anywhere in the commercial town as a result of the reopening of the Main Market, sources told LEADERSHIP.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that over 10,000 shops have already been marked for demolition in the Main Market.
And traders, on sighting the governor, started appealing to him to halt the demolition of the shops and to give them time to find alternative markets to do their business.
It was learnt that the shops earmarked for demolition were illegal structures approved for construction by some past officials of the state government who managed markets.
