Despite Suspension Of Sit-At-Home Order, Awka, Onitsha Residents Fail To Resume Businesses
Residents of Awka and Onitsha are still hesitant to venture out, despite the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) directive suspending the ‘every Monday’ sit-at-home protest proclaimed in solidarity with Nnamdi Kanu.
As of 8 a.m. on Monday, calls to Onitsha residents revealed that the streets were still deserted.
Mr Theophilus Omaka, a dealer in Onitsha’s major market, told DAILY POST that only a few traders had arrived at the market as of 8 a.m.
He said, “The market opens at 7am every morning, and usually, on a Monday, after a long weekend, traders itch to come to their shops, and that means that as early as 6am, most traders are already waiting for market officials to open their shops, so they can go to work.
“But today, it is already 8am, and the markets are already open, but only a few traders have arrived. As I was coming to market from Fegge where I live, I found the whole street scanty, unlike what used to happen on Monday mornings when there is usually a rush.”
As of 8 a.m. in Awka, the DAILY POST correspondent found shops still closed.
Some people told this newspaper that word of the suspension was not widely disseminated.
A trader at Aroma, popularly known as Oga Boss, who traders in phone parts said: “I didn’t plan to go out today because of the sit-at-home. I’m just hearing it from you that it has been suspended.”
IPOB, through its press secretary, Mr Emma Powerful, called off the sit-at-home order two days ago, claiming that the practice would henceforth take place only on days when its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, would appear in court.
