Soludo Vows To Revamp ‘Decayed’ Onitsha Main Market
Gov. Chukwuma Soludo has ordered the immediate remodeling of the Onitsha Main Market reputed to be the biggest market in West Africa at a time.
Soludo said this while addressing stakeholders at the new Government House, Awka on Friday .
He decried the deteriorated state of the market noting that the Monday sit-at-home culture had had devastating impact on the market and the economy of the state
Recall that Soludo on Monday ordered a one -week closure of the Onitsha Main Market following the refusal of traders to open the market for business on Mondays.
Soludo regretted that the market, in its current state, was no longer functional following a study that was done on it.
“The main market is no longer what it was designed to be, it has literally died,” he said.
He recalled a time in the late 70s when the market was a model of efficiency, with wide streets allowing trucks and shoppers to move freely. Today, that layout has been replaced by chaos.
“If people cannot park, they cannot shop. In the late 70s, trucks used to drive into the market; massive parking spaces were provided for but today, that is gone.
The Governor said the market had been effectively shut down for over 260 days since the ritual began, with billions of naira lost weekly and driving customers to alternative markets in neighboring states.
Soludo warned that leadership requires taking “inconvenient steps” to secure the future, emphasising that the closure is a corrective measure to reclaim the state’s economic life.
The Governor revealed that he commissioned world-renowned experts in 2023 to develop a design for the market’s resurrection which would sit on a 25-hectare site.
He said the future of global commerce lay in efficient logistics, adding that the remodeling efforts aligned with his manifesto to create “planned and sustainable markets and communities and cities.
“At this point, leadership beckons on us to take those inconvenient steps to secure the future,” he said.
Chief Chijioke Okpalaugo, Chairman of Onitsha Main Market, on behalf of the traders, issued a formal response to the decision of the government to redesign the market.
Okpalaugo said that traders have aligned with the governor’s vision for a modernised market but requested a window period to secure their inventory.
“After careful consideration of the proposals presented by the Government for the revitalisation of our market, we, the leadership and traders of Onitsha Main Market, officially announce that we have chosen ‘Option 2’ as the preferred path forward.
“We recognise that leadership requires difficult choices, and we accept this path for the ultimate good of Anambra and the survival of our market.
“We are committed to the vision of a planned, sustainable, and accessible market that can once again compete on a global stage.
“However, we humbly appeal to Governor Soludo to grant us a short grace period to allow our members to safely evacuate their goods and wares from the areas designated as illegal structures before the commencement of enforcement and demolition.”
