No fewer than 200 shops at the Bridge Head Market in Onitsha, Anambra State, have been sealed by the Onitsha South Local Government Council.
The markets were sealed for failing to comply with the state government’s directive to discontinue the Monday sit-at-home culture.
Speaking to journalists on Tuesday, the Onitsha South Local Government Chairperson, Emeka Orji, described the traders’ actions as unfortunate and counterproductive.
Mr Orji, who led the monitoring exercise on Monday, said the affected shops were located across six market lines and were found locked during the compliance monitoring.
According to him, there are strong indications that the affected shops’ allocations may be revoked and reassigned to other traders, pending the outcome of a full investigation by the authorities.
“It is sad and unfortunate that while the state government is making concerted efforts to revive economic activities in the state, some individuals are bent on sabotaging those efforts.
“Other markets and shops in Onitsha were open for business, but traders at the Bridge Head Market chose to shut down their operations.
“This amounts to economic sabotage against the state, and we will no longer tolerate such actions as the affected shops will remain sealed until next Monday,” he said.
The council chairperson stressed that if the affected traders fail to reopen for business on Monday, the closure could be extended indefinitely.
On his part, the Secretary of the Council, Paul Onuachalla, said that the traders’ actions constituted serious offences, including economic sabotage and related crimes under the law.
Mr Onuachalla further disclosed that the shop allocations of the affected traders may be revoked in line with existing laws.
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In order to revive trading activities in the south-eastern state, Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra has been battling traders who refuse to open their shops due to the illegal sit-at-home directive issued by a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra.
Mr Soludo, on Monday, ordered the temporary closure of the New Auto Spare Parts Market in Nnewi, the state’s second-largest commercial hub, because traders were complying with the sit-at-home directive.
The closure of the New Auto Spare Parts Market came nearly a month after the governor ordered the closure of the Onitsha Main Market for the same reason.
(NAN)