The governor, who paid a visit to the market on Monday morning (today) was visibly angry that the traders refused to open for business, thereby flouting State government’s directive asking them to disregard the Monday sit-at-home practice.

He therefore said that “The government cannot stand by while a few individuals willfully undermine public safety and disregard official directives meant to restore normalcy. This is plain economic sabotage.

“We are not going to allow this. The closure is a protective measure for law-abiding citizens”, warning that “if the market fails to reopen after the one-week shutdown, it will be sealed for one month.

“You either decide that you are going to trade here or you go elsewhere. I am very serious about this”, the governor warned.

Meantime, The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is insisting that the Monday sit-at-home is a legal, peaceful civil protest and not a criminal act.

IPOB’s Spokesman, Emma Powerful, in a statement on Sunday described the weekly shutdown as a symbolic act of solidarity with the group’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu presently in jail.

According to him, “Let it be stated clearly and without ambiguity: Anambra is not a military barracks. The people are not tenants in their own land. No governor has the lawful power to compel free citizens to open their businesses or move about against their will, especially when their action is a peaceful, non-violent expression of conscience.

“Treating the sit-at-home as misconduct constitutes a declaration of war on the people’s dignity. The frustration in Igboland is deep. The anger is justified. The pain is historic.

“And the Monday sit-at-home is a token expression of that collective burden. But instead of confronting the injustice that fuels agitation, the governor has chosen the weak and disgraceful route of harassing his own people — to be seen as ‘loyal’ by Abuja power brokers who have shown nothing but contempt for Igbo lives and Igbo dignity”.

The group further warned that any enforcement measures, including task forces or vigilante-style units to compel citizens to work on Mondays, would cross a “red line.”

“We do not force people to sit at home. But no government will force them to go out. The sit-at-home is voluntary. It is a choice. It is a personal and collective statement of solidarity”, the statement added.

Powerful was reacting to the State Government’s announcement that, effective February 2026, salaries of civil servants would be paid on a pro-rata basis in response to the ongoing sit-at-home directive.

Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, said the decision was taken during an end-of-tenure retreat of the Anambra State Executive Council and explained that salaries would be calculated based on a 24-working-day month.

*Source: Punch