Sit-at-home : Soludo seals Nnewi market over non compliance order to open market

By Cyprian Ebele, Onitsha

The Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo  Monday sealed the New Auto Spare parts Association, NASPA), market, Nnewi, following alleged non compliance with the governor’s order that markets must open on Mondays.

 Soludo insisted that markets must open on Monday’s to help recover what the state has lost within the six years they were shut by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, in protest against the arrest and subsequent detention of Nnamdi Kanu, its leader.

Consequently, the Commissioner for Information,  Law Mefor, in a statement on Monday, announced the immediate shutdown of NASPA, Nkwo Nnewi.

Hear him,” “The Anambra State Government hereby informs the general public that the New Auto Spare Parts Association (NASPA) Market, Nkwo Nnewi, is closed for business”

According to the Commissioner, the closure takes effect from midnight on Monday, February 23, 2026, and the market will reopen on Monday, March 2, 2026.

Mefor explained that the action followed what the government described as low compliance with Governor Soludo’s directive ending the Monday sit-at-home in the state.

He further disclosed that the closure order was conveyed to traders by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Trade and Markets, Chief Evarist Uba, alongside the Commissioner for Information, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, AVM Ben Chiobi (Rtd), and the Mayor of Nnewi North Local Government Area, Hon. Echezona Anazodo.

“Traders and customers have been advised to stay away from the market until it officially reopens to avoid possible confrontation with law enforcement agencies,”

The government also warned that the market could face an extended shutdown if there is no substantial compliance with the directive when it reopens next week.

Meanwhile, the state government maintains that normal activities have resumed across Anambra on Mondays following Governor Soludo’s late January 2026 order abolishing the sit-at-home practice.