A member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Tony Muobike, has defended Governor Charles Soludo’s temporary closure of Onitsha Main Market, saying the governor is empowered by the law to do so.
Mr Muobike, who represents Aguata II Constituency in the state assembly, spoke when he appeared as a guest on ABS TV show on Tuesday.
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PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Governor Soludo ordered the market closed for one week when he visited on Monday and observed that shops were shut in compliance with an illegal sit-at-home.
The sit-at-home is often enforced by a faction of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
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The Anambra State Government on Monday night claimed, without providing details, that the illegal directive costs the state about N8 billion per week.
‘It is within the limits of his powers’
Some Nigerians have argued that Mr Soludo may have violated the rights of the affected traders by closing the market.
But speaking during the TV show, Mr Muobike argued that the governor’s action was within his powers.
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“Let me say that the governor did the exact right thing and what he did is within the limits of his powers as governor of Anambra State,” he said.
The lawmaker stressed that the governor was only trying to address “a fundamental security lapse” in Anambra.
“This has affected everybody including the people (traders) who are also complaining,” he said.
‘The state owns the market’
Mr Muobike, who is the chairperson of the House Committee on Health, said apart from Mr Soludo’s right as governor, the Anambra State Market Law 2024 empowers him to regulate markets in the state.
“So, through the instrumentality and framework of the law, the government has a right to regulate the market,” he said.
The lawmaker stressed that Mr Soludo is not compelling anybody to trade in the market, but that Monday must not be excluded in line with the rules.
“He (Soludo) is saying that if you want to trade in the main market or any other market in Anambra State, you have to open on Mondays. So, it is up to you.
“If you don’t want to abide by the laws governing the market, you are free to leave,” he said.
Mr Muobike argued that the governor’s primary goal is to mitigate the impact of the sit-at-home on the economy.
“The primary thing is not about who opens or who doesn’t open shops.
“The primary thing is that the governor is trying to rescue Anambra from economic sabotage that happens every month,” he stated.
‘South-east residents were coerced’
Mr Muobike claimed that South-east residents initially rejected the sit-at-home but were coerced into obeying the illegal directive by its enforcers.
“What we see today is that people have gotten used to sitting at home on Mondays.
“So a lot of people have changed their routines and converted Mondays to become their regular weekends,” he said, adding that the governor chose to reverse it because of its adverse effect on the economy.
Background
The sit-at-home initially enforced by IPOB had resulted in deadly attacks and destruction of goods.
Usually observed on Mondays, it began in the South-east in August 2021 when IPOB imposed it on residents of the region.
The directive was intended to pressure the Nigerian government to release its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who was facing terrorism charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The group later suspended the weekly directive, limiting it to days Mr Kanu appeared in court. However, residents of Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, Abia and Anambra states continued to observe the directive largely out of fear.
Gunmen who often enforce the illegal directive have killed many residents and punished others for flouting the directive.
IPOB repeatedly distanced itself from the continued enforcement, insisting that those behind it were criminals exploiting the group’s name.
Despite this, Simon Ekpa, a Finland-based Biafra agitator, persisted in declaring sit-at-home orders, even after being suspended by the IPOB faction loyal to Mr Kanu.
In July 2023, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Kanu, through his lawyer Aloy Ejimakor, directed Mr Ekpa to halt the action. Mr Ekpa dismissed the directive as fake, insisting the order would continue unless Mr Kanu personally addressed him in Finland.
Efforts by Igbo leaders, including Enugu Governor Peter Mbah, Anambra Governor Mr Soludo and Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo, to end the practice yielded limited results.
While the sit-at-home has largely disappeared in Enugu, Abia and Ebonyi states, it persists in Anambra and Imo.
Meanwhile, Mr Kanu was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for terrorism in November, while Mr Ekpa received a six-year prison sentence in Finland for similar offences.
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