Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo is not relenting in his efforts to reclaim Mondays, as a day of business, reports Ikeugonna Eleke.
On Monday, February 23, officials of the Anambra State Government, led by Special Adviser to the Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, on Trade and Markets, Hon Evaristus Uba, while acting on behalf of the Governor, shut down Nkwo Nnewi Spare Parts Market. The reason was because the officials who had for about a month been moving around markets in the state to monitor the level of compliance of traders to the state government’s order for markets to be opened on Monday, arrived the market and found it under lock and key.
A press release by the Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor, who announced the closure, stated that the Special Adviser to the Governor on Trade and Markets, Chief Uba, shut the market on behalf of the Governor. This happened barely three weeks after Soludo visited Onitsha Main Market and also closed it for not opening on Mondays, causing a major protest in the city of Onitsha.
Mefor, while announcing the closure of Nkwo Nnewi Spare Parts Market, stated, ‘I hereby inform the general public that New Auto Spare Parts Association (NASPA) Market, Nkwo Nnewi, is closed for business. The closure of the market followed low compliance with Mr Governor, Prof Chukwuma Charles Soludo’s order to end Monday sit-at-home in Anambra State.
‘The order to close the market was handed down on behalf of the Governor by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Trade and Markets, Chief Evarist Uba, in company of the Commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor; and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, AVM Ben Chiobi (Rtd); and Nnewi Mayor, Hon. Echezona Anazodo.
Consequently, the market, whose date of closure is effective from midnight today (Monday, 23rd February, 2026), will reopen next Monday, 2nd March, 2026. Traders and customers are advised to avoid the market until next Monday to avoid issues with law enforcement agents. The market may face further closure if compliance is not substantial by next Monday, when the market reopens.’
The announcement as usual had sparked arguments about Soludo’s resolve in ending the anomaly of Monday sit at home in the state. Meanwhile, many blamed the traders in the market for not complying with government’s directives, having witnessed the fierce resistance Soludo put up against Onitsha Main Market Traders, which is a major market in the continent, whose closure will be felt far more than Nnewi Market, a smaller market and easier to handle.
In the case of Onitsha Market, Soludo defied threats of renewed attacks and a huge wave of protests, and threatened to demolish the market if they continued. In the end, Soludo won the battle, and for four weeks now Onitsha Main Market has remained open on Mondays, with huge economic activities taking place there.
Since after then however, while the Governor sometimes personally visits markets to check the level of compliance, his Special Adviser on Trade and Markets, Uba, regularly leads other government officials to markets to check compliance. Markets like Bridgehead Market, Onitsha; Building Material Market, Ogidi; and Electronics Market, Oba; have at different times had shops within the markets shutdown. This was mainly because the markets were open, but with some shop owners deciding to stay away.
But in the case of the Spare Parts Market, also known as Nkwo Nnewi, the entire market was under lock and key, prompting the officials to shut down the entire market for one week. The market was however expected to reopen on February 2, depending on the compliance of the traders, meaning that if they failed to open substantially that day, they will have the ban reinforced again, keeping them at home for another one week. Many have insisted that with what the Governor did in Onitsha, Nnewi Market may be a small task for him to deal with.
In the case of Onitsha, Soludo’s visit to the market over the sit-at-home strike opened his eyes to the rot in the place, including lack of walkways and motor parks, as a result of illegal construction of shops in every space in the market. On Sunday, March 1, Soludo, who had earlier threatened to demolish the entire market as consequences to the traders for not opening on Mondays, rescinded his threat after they complied, but began demolition of all illegal shops in the market last Monday. The demolition started very early in the morning, underscoring Soludo’s resolve to get things right in the state.
Besides restoring Monday to its glorious state, as the first day of the week, Soludo is not only forcing traders to go to market, he is also ensuring that security is made available, just as he is assuring customers of their safety to ensure that traders get patronage, while also appealing to drivers to operate fully on Mondays by conveying customers from different parts of the country into Anambra for business.
Last week, the Anambra State Government held a meeting with transporters, urging them to support its efforts to end the Monday sit-at-home tradition by resuming full operations on Mondays.
The Commissioner for Information, Dr. Mefor, during a one-day training/retraining programme for commercial drivers and riders, noted that full operation of transporters was needed in ending the sit-at-home syndrome in the state. The training which was organised by the Ministry of Transport in partnership with Rotary International District 9142, aimed to equip drivers and riders with the necessary skills and knowledge to navigate the state’s transport sector effectively.
Dr. Mefor said: ‘The crucial role transporters play in reviving the state’s economy, especially on Mondays, is very important. The transport sector is key in helping to take back our Mondays. Traders are complying with the government’s efforts but struggle with transportation which affects their businesses and customers.
The traders are complying but they are complaining that lack of adequate transport vehicles makes it difficult for them and their customers to operate optimally. The civil servants are now working on Mondays, banks are open, even schools are functioning. The Main Market is 100 percent operational on Mondays. The transport sector is the only one slacking,’ he added.
The Information Commissioner urged transporters to seize the opportunity to support the government’s initiative and contribute to the state’s economic growth, adding that doing so, would not only improve their livelihoods, but also create a more vibrant and prosperous Anambra, as the State took back the Mondays.
As time progresses, considering the resolve of the state government and the near decimation of criminal elements posing as separatists, who mostly fueled the sit-at-home order through violent enforcements, it won’t be long before the state forgets what Mondays used to be – a ghost state with near zero activity.
