•Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo of Anambra State
About three weeks after the Onitsha Main Market reopened following a closure due to the sit-at-home order by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the Anambra State government has shut down another popular market, the New Auto Spare Parts Association (NASPA) Nnewi Market, for similar allegations.
The order to close the market was issued at the instance of the governor through his Special Adviser (SPAD) on Trade and Markets, Chief Evarist Uba, due to the low turnout of traders on the fateful day, reports The Guardian.
Announcing the closure of the market, in the company of the Commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor, and Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, AVM Ben Chiobi(Rtd) and Nnewi Mayor, Hon. Echezona Anazodo, the SPAD said the closure took immediate effect from midnight Monday, February 23, 2026, and would reopen next Monday, March 2, 2026.
Ubah warned the traders to avoid the market until next Monday to avoid issues with law enforcement agents.
According to him, the market might face further closure if compliance isn’t substantial by next Monday, when the market reopens.
Reacting to the development, the Senior Special Assistant to the governor, Dr. Ejiofor Opara, lauded Governor Soludo’s action.
Opara said, “The Monday sit-at-home ended on 4th April 2022 when governor Soludo and all the stakeholders came together after a rally and agreed on putting the Monday sit-at-home to an end.”
According to him, the recent call by IPOB leader Mazi Kanu couldn’t have just provided the tonic for citizens, including traders, to comply with the Monday sit-at-home, stressing: “Governor Soludo has been hellbent on efforts to end the criminality masquerading as the Monday sit-at-home, not just in Anambra State but across the entire South-East zone. Governor Soludo has matched his call for the end to sit-at-home with his word.”
The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) quoted Governor Soludo as contending that “we don’t have Unknown Gunmen (UGM), but known persons who cloned the image of UGM and have been going about maiming, kidnapping for ransom and killing innocent citizens.”
According to him, the inception of the Soludo administration was followed by the holding of eight local government areas under siege by organised criminals, including Ihiala, Nnewi South, Aguata, Orumba South, Ekwusigo, etc.
Opara disclosed that the reopening of markets on Mondays in Anambra State is about the state’s economy, the maintenance of law and order, and the protection of the lives and property of traders and other citizens.
He noted that Soludo was able to tame the dastardly acts of criminal elements by holding a stakeholder security summit and offering amnesty, training, and empowerment opportunities to criminals, encouraging them to come out of the bushes and embrace the One Youth, Two Skills offers that have equipped no fewer than hundreds of thousands. He also noted the Solution Innovation District (SID), which aims to invent and birth the African Silicon Valley in the state and equip about 70,000 youths with the necessary ICT skills in the first instance.
