January 29, 2026 l Dalena Reporters
Anambra, Nigeria — Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo has condemned the continued practice of traders and residents failing to open their businesses on Mondays, describing the phenomenon as a “calculated economic sabotage” aimed at crippling the state’s economy.
Speaking on Thursday, Governor Soludo said actions by unnamed actors to encourage persistent sit-at-home observance on Mondays were aimed at undermining major commercial hubs, including Onitsha and Nnewi.
Soludo said the refusal of traders to engage in normal economic activity violated government directives and posed a threat to the overall business environment of the state. In response, his administration has taken measures to discourage compliance with the sit-at-home practice by temporarily closing the Onitsha Main Market, one of the region’s largest commercial centres.
“It’s now calculated economic sabotage to bring down Onitsha, to bring down Nnewi, to bring down the economy of the state,” Soludo stated in his address.
The governor reiterated his administration’s determination to reclaim the state from what he described as forces of lawlessness and fear, vowing that efforts to restore normalcy and economic activity would continue regardless of resistance.
Soludo also reassured residents that security operations were being intensified across Anambra, asserting that the state was among the safest in the country despite assertions to the contrary.
In addition to measures targeting markets, the governor warned that schools and other institutions failing to open for business on Mondays would face sanctions, including potential closures.
Outlining his vision for the state’s future, Soludo emphasized that his administration aimed to build an Anambra that operates productively “24 by 7,” signaling a strategic push to eliminate disruptions associated with the weekly sit-at-home order.