Indigenes of Ebonyi State trading in Anambra have distanced themselves from any planned protests over the closure of the Onitsha Main Market, pledging support for Governor Prof. Chukwuma Soludo’s directive to maintain full commercial activities on Mondays.
The Ebonyi Town Union in Anambra State made the stance known in a statement issued by its President-General, Moses Igwe, in Onitsha on Friday. Igwe urged Ebonyi traders to avoid actions that could disrupt public peace or endanger lives and businesses.
He explained that the Monday business policy is intended to protect traders’ interests and strengthen the state’s economy, adding that repeated market closures only exacerbate losses.
“Closing markets every Monday is not helping anyone; it is even more damaging to the traders themselves,” Igwe said. “Non-indigenes, particularly Ebonyi traders, often bear the brunt whenever protests turn violent. We advise our kinsmen to disassociate completely from any demonstration against government policy.”
Igwe praised the Soludo administration for its inclusivity, citing appointments for Ebonyi indigenes in the state government and the construction of a general hospital in Okpoko, a community with a significant Ebonyi population.
He called on all traders in Anambra to fully resume business on Mondays, emphasizing that economic stability and peaceful coexistence are the surest paths to collective progress.
Earlier reports by Punch Online noted that traders at the Onitsha Main Market and other markets had pledged to end the Monday sit-at-home practice and resume full operations in line with the governor’s directive.
Speaking after an interactive session with Governor Soludo, Onitsha Main Market Chairman, Chijioke Okpalugo, affirmed traders’ readiness to support the governor’s “One Anambra” vision while appealing for enhanced security to protect lives and property.
