Sit-At-Home: Governor Soludo Reopens Nkwo Nnewi After One-Week Closure, Shuts Ihiala Market

Chukwuma Soludo, Governor of Anambra State, has reopened the New Motorcycle Spare Parts Market, popularly known as Nkwo Nnewi, following a one-week shutdown.

The governor had through the Special Adviser on Trade and Markets, Evaristus Uba, sealed the market last Monday after he and other officials visited and found low turnout of traders, signaling non-adherence to the government order calling for abolition of the Monday-sit at-home.

Uba, who spoke on behalf of the governor, had threatened that if after one week the traders failed to turn up for Monday business, he would extend the ban.

But, kit was learnt that the ban was lifted on Monday after the chairman of Nnewi North Local Government Area, Echezona Anazodo, visited the market and found a large turnout of traders.

Anazodo said: “I’m happy to know today that traders complied with the order to resume for business.

"I want to believe that if there was even half of this turn out last week, the market would not have been shut down.

“But now that most of you have complied, we will go round the market and seal the shops of traders who failed open. We don’t want a situation where the entire market would be shutdown just because of few traders, instead, those traders should bear the brunt themselves.”

Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports have it that a market in Ihiala Local Government Area has also been shut down for non-compliance with the government order to shun the sit-at-home.

A source said government officials arrived at the market to see it under lock and keys, prompting the shutting down of the facility for one week.

Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State is one of the areas where separatist activities thrived during the peak of the Biafra agitation.

Several camps were built in the area by criminal elements who posed as agitators, making it very risky to engage in business activities in the area.