Alphonsus Nweze
The multi-billion Naira Onitsha Main Market and Ogbaru Main Market popularly known as Relief Market joined other markets in Anambra State to observe Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s order to use every Monday to conduct environmental sanitation exercise and hold prayer for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).
Governor Soludo from inception of his administration had wanted to use force to cancel the Sit-at-Home in the State and reopen the markets but the strategy has been unsuccessful.
Hence the latest strategy of using prayer and environmental sanitation exercise to gradually persuade traders to return to the markets on Mondays.
At the Main Market, the gates were thrown open for traders and their customers as early as
8am.
Although there were virtually few traders in the market, mainly made up of the leadership of the market lines.
The Chairman of Main Market, who was on the ground to monitor the exercise took Newsmen round the market where the environmental exercise were being carried out.
He said the sanitation exercise has become a daily routine for all the traders in the market because they have been mandated to gather the refuse they generated after the day’s business in the evening into waste bins which in turn were deposited into designated dumping places in the market.
Ezeania as Onitsha Main Market boss is fondly called, extolled the commitment of Soludo to improve the quality of markets in the State especially the Onitsha Main Market, saying that the Governor has approved a Health Centre under construction with a doctor and two nurses as staff.
He said that the market is also a beneficiary of Wifi project of Federal Government courtesy of the Governor who directed that It should be sited at the Main Market.
The market engaged in prayer session for Kanu led by the Coordinator, Pastor Uche Emefo after the sanitation exercise.
At Relief Market where the few traders who turned out with the leadership of the market cleared the dirts in the market and had rounds of prayer sessions for the release of Kanu, the President, Mr. Ndubuisi Ochiogu, said the turnout was impressive.
He said Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays have been designated as sanitation exercise days in the market after which they fumigated the market from 5pm.
Ochiogu said he was impressed with the turn out of traders, stating that gradually people would begin to come to market again.
The Vice-President of the market, Mr. Ikechukwu Okeke, said they prayed that Kanu should be freed and after the prager they went into cleaning of the market after which everybody was free to open his shop.
