Pan-Igbo group urges South-East governors to crack down on sit-at-home enforcement, alleges market leaders’ collusion with violent enforcers

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has endorsed Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, over his decision to shut the Onitsha Main Market for one week following persistent defiance of the controversial Monday sit-at-home order.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Ohanaeze, through its factional Deputy President-General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, and National Spokesperson, Chief Chinyereze Ohia, described the governor’s action as bold, timely and long overdue. The group called on other governors in the South-East to adopt similar decisive measures to finally end the sit-at-home practice, which it said has crippled the regional economy and claimed numerous lives for more than five years.

According to Ohanaeze, credible intelligence reports indicate the existence of a clandestine network within the leadership of some South-East markets that allegedly collaborates with violent enforcers of the sit-at-home order. The organisation accused these market leaders of deliberately undermining the efforts of state governments to restore normal economic and social activities, despite being fully aware of the devastating consequences of prolonged Monday closures.

“The unconstitutional Monday sit-at-home directives, instigated by pro-Biafran agitators, have caused untold hardship, loss of lives and near-total collapse of the South-East economy,” the statement said. It noted that repeated attempts by governors to abolish the practice have failed largely due to alleged internal sabotage and complicity.

Reacting to the mass protests by traders on Tuesday against the market shutdown—which followed Governor Soludo’s unscheduled visit to the market on Monday, January 26, where he observed widespread non-compliance—Ohanaeze urged the governor to immediately summon the leadership of the Onitsha Main Market. The group demanded that the market executives enter into a binding agreement with the state government to uphold the rule of law and support lawful governance.

Ohanaeze further advised that if the market leadership refuses to cooperate, Governor Soludo should invoke his executive powers to dissolve the current executives and constitute a special management committee to oversee the affairs of the market.

The pan-Igbo body also called on the South-East Governors’ Forum to convene a meeting of leaders of major markets across the region to investigate their alleged roles in promoting, enforcing or sustaining the sit-at-home order over the past five years. Market leaders found innocent, the group said, should be compelled to commit to full commercial activities from Monday to Saturday, while those found complicit should be immediately disbanded.

Amid ongoing trader protests, Ohanaeze appealed to the Anambra State Government and security agencies to urgently protect the physical structures and infrastructure of the Onitsha Main Market. It warned that both internal saboteurs and external forces could exploit the situation, stressing that any escalation beyond the January 27 protests could result in catastrophic losses for Ndigbo and the Nigerian economy.

Describing Onitsha Main Market as a historic institution that predates Nigeria’s independence, Ohanaeze noted that the market remains a symbol of Igbo enterprise and resilience, attracting investments from the colonial era to the present day.

The organisation reaffirmed its support for all lawful measures by the Anambra State Government and security agencies to preserve and protect the market, insisting that the fight against economic sabotage must prioritise regional stability, lawful commerce and collective progress.

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