Help Make Onitsha Great Again —Soludo Charges Landlords

By Izunna Okafor, Onitsha

Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo has frowned over the the massive exodus of businesses and industries from the commercial city of Onitsha to neighbouring states.

Gov. Soludo expressed this displeasure on Thursday during a crucial meeting with landlords in Onitsha, aimed at restoring the fading commercial glory of Onitsha and making it a booming and progressing commercial city again.

According to him, it has become necessary to dialogue on how best to reclaim Onitsha, starting from the contributions of the landlords, hence the meeting, which, he said, was in line with the mantra of ‘Be your brother’s keeper’.

The Governor, who described Onitsha city as “dead”, said everyone has a critical role to play restore its lost glory and turn the city around for good.

He said: “Recall that Onitsha was once known to house the largest market in West Africa, which is sadly no longer the case, as new businesses and investments are now tilting towards neighbouring states.

“A verifiable estimate shows that 35 to 40 percent of businesses and productive assets in Onitsha are evacuating to neighbouring states.

“This is the reality of the situation and my administration is committed to turning around Onitsha into a smart megacity, as Onitsha has advanced into a metropolis; hence, this civic engagement.

“I need your support to drive home the initiatives and policy thrusts of this administration.”

He also emphasized the landlords would benefit from the engagement as the value of their assets would eventually increase.

Recall that there has been a recent surge of compliance to the Mondays sit-at-home order of the Indigenous People of Biafra in south-eastern states, especially in Anambra State, where the enforcers of the policy have become more serious than ever before, following Governor Soludo's order against compliance to the IPoB's order, pronounced during his Inaugural Speech on Thursday, March 17, 2022.

This recent uproar in the enforcement of the sit-at-home order, which is usually accompanied by violence, has forced many people to close down their shops or suspend business activities in the state every Monday, coupled with activities of Unknown Gummen in the state.

Recall that IPOB had, in 2021, announced the sit-at-home order in the south-east in solidarity with its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is currently in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS).

Members of the State Executive Council; member representing Onitsha North Constituency 2, Hon. Eddy Ibuzo; his Onitsha South 1 counterpart, Hon. Uzoma Eli; the National President of Anambra State Association of Town Unions, ASATU, Bar. Titus Akpudo, among others were also present on Thursday as Soludo interacted with the landlords.