IGBOZURUOKE MEDIA

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has announced that residents of Anambra State will resume business activities and open shops and markets on Tuesday, insisting that the move is an exercise of citizens’ right to livelihood and not an act of defiance against the state government. 

In a press statement dated January 26 and signed by its spokesperson, Comrade Emma Powerful, IPOB said the decision reflects the “wishes of the people” and urged Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo to respect what it described as the collective will of traders and residents across the state.

The Biafran group argued that Igbo-owned businesses were built without government support and recalled past hardships, including the COVID-19 lockdown period, to underscore what it called the resilience and entrepreneurial spirit of the Igbo people. 

IPOB also referenced historical accounts to reinforce its position that the people of the Southeast would continue to resist policies they perceive as unjust.

IPOB cautioned the Anambra State government against any attempt to enforce restrictions through security deployments, warning that arrests, harassment or violence could have serious consequences. 

While stressing that it does not seek confrontation with the governor or the state government, the group said it expects authorities to allow markets to operate freely.

The statement further linked the continued observance of sit-at-home actions in parts of the Southeast to the detention of IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, and renewed calls for his unconditional release. 

According to the group, freeing Kanu would restore peace and normal economic activities in the region.

“Tomorrow, our markets shall open,” IPOB declared, maintaining that no force should prevent traders from conducting their businesses. 

SaharaReporters had reported that the governor, Chukwuma Soludo, ordered the closure of the Onitsha Main Market for one week over the continued observance of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Monday sit-at-home by traders in the state despite government directives lifting the practice.

The governor had issued the directive on Monday, during an unscheduled visit to the market, where he observed that many traders had failed to open their shops for business. 

Addressing traders, journalists, and security officials at the scene, Soludo had warned that the state government would no longer tolerate partial compliance with its policy on full economic activities from Monday to Saturday. 

He had announced that the market would remain shut for the rest of the week and reopen the following Monday, stressing that traders who fail to resume business on that day would face tougher sanctions.  (Sahara Reporters)