Soludo Ends 230-Week Sit-At-Home Stranglehold, Reopens Onitsha Main Market with Bold Reforms
By Chizoba Njaka
Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo has decisively ended the five-year Monday Sit-At-Home order enforced by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPoB) in Anambra State, culminating in the full reopening of Onitsha Main Market, West Africa's largest, on February 2, 2026.
According to Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, in an official statement released to journalists in Awka, the Sit-At-Home initiative, which commenced on August 9, 2021, with the objective of securing the release of IPoB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, resulted in the closure of the market for 230 Mondays. This had a debilitating impact on the economy of the Southeast region, creating a perception of the area being under siege.
Soludo, drawing from his experience as former Central Bank Governor who consolidated Nigeria's 89 banks into 25 robust institutions, took direct action. He first visited Kanu in DSS custody, where the IPoB leader disavowed the order and its violence. Rejecting dialogue refusals by enforcers, Soludo targeted Onitsha Main Market as the "epicentre.
The governor's key measures included: convening an Executive Council retreat to address the Sit-At-Home issue, implementing a pro-rata salary system for civil servants (no work, no pay) on Mondays, extending this policy to teachers with schools barring absent students on Tuesdays, closing the market for a week from January 26 after failed talks, and holding crucial meetings, including one with over 3,000 traders on January 29, securing agreement to reopen Mondays from February 2.
The Commissioner stated that traders opted for market renovation, involving removal of illegal structures and restoration of the original master plan, rather than full demolition and rebuilding.
On reopening day, Soludo personally shopped at the market, buying items like a power bank, phone, and boxers, which he shared with traders amid applause. This lead-by-example approach echoes his security crackdown since 2022, dismantling criminal camps in eight local governments.
Mefor hailed Soludo's "consensus leadership" and refusal to yield to non-state actors, calling it a victory for economic revival. Markets across Anambra now operate fully on Mondays, signaling normalized business.
Soludo's actions underscore his reformist legacy, prioritizing personal responsibility as noted in Chinua Achebe's The Trouble with Nigeria, he added.
The Commissioner stated that traders opted for market renovation, involving removal of illegal structures and restoration of the original master plan, rather than full demolition and rebuilding.
On reopening day, Soludo personally shopped at the market, buying items like a power bank, phone, and boxers, which he shared with traders amid applause. This lead-by-example approach echoes his security crackdown since 2022, dismantling criminal camps in eight local governments.
Mefor hailed Soludo's "consensus leadership" and refusal to yield to non-state actors, calling it a victory for economic revival. Markets across Anambra now operate fully on Mondays, signaling normalized business.
Soludo's actions underscore his reformist legacy, prioritizing personal responsibility as noted in Chinua Achebe's The Trouble with Nigeria, he added.