Onitsha market closure : Traders to meet Soludo, plead for forgiveness

By Cyprian Ebele, Onitsha

Traders at the Onitsha Main Market and environs who were  sanctioned by having their markets shut down last Monday by Governor Chukwuma Soludo, for observing the Monday sit-at-home exercise, had in a closed door meeting held Tuesday at Onitsha Main market Secretariat, (White House), resolved to meet with the governor.

The meeting was well attended by the executives of the concerned markets and stakeholders who expressed optimism that the governor will give them a listening ear.

Fielding questions from newsmen shortly after the meeting, the chairman of the market, Chijioke Okpalaugo, said, “A letter has been written, we are going to see him, (governor), and appeal to him for forgiveness.

“We have just finished the meeting now, we appeal to him to consider reopening the markets .We are losing a lot because of the Monday sit-at-home. We Onitsha market traders resolved to see the governor within the week and plead for forgiveness.

“Soludo is a progressive minded governor and his decision is welcomed because we are losing what we are supposed to be getting because of Monday sit-at-home. He loves his people, his decision is a nice one because he took it at the right time.

“What he means is to push us to stop observing the Monday sit-at-home exercise and he has done that.Some people want to hijack the situation via embarking on illegal protest.

“We urge him to reopen the market before Monday. I am not aware of any protest they said was going on against the closure of the markets, they are miscreants.

“Government officials came to us earlier, last Monday and told us  to reopen or the markets will be shut, and the governor has shut the Main Market and other adjoining markets,” Okpalaugo stated.

Recall that Soludo, while shutting down the markets  for one week in the first instance, vowed to shut the markets for one month if the traders failed to comply.