By Tony Okafor, Awka
Last Monday, Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, took a firm stance against the long-standing Monday sit-at-home order, assuring traders and civil servants that normal activities would henceforth resume across the state. As a warning shot, he temporarily shut down the Onitsha Main Market for one week.
True to his word, the Anambra State Government announced over the weekend that the closure of the Onitsha Main Market had been lifted, directing all traders to return to business on Monday, February 2, 2026.
In a press release on Sunday, the Commissioner for Information, Dr. Law Mefor, stated: “This is to inform the general public that the closure of Onitsha Main Market, ordered by Mr. Governor, Prof Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR lapses this weekend.
“To that effect, all traders are hereby informed to resume business as usual on Monday, February 2, 2026, as there is no longer any form of sit-at-home on Mondays in Anambra State.
“Ndị Anambra and residents are assured of adequate security and encouraged to report any security concerns to 5111.
“Meanwhile, civil servants and teachers are reminded that pro rata salary system remains in force: no work on Monday, no pay.Also, parents must release their children for school on Mondays to avoid sanctions.
Soludo’s decisive move has had wider ramifications, exposing deep fissures within the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The movement’s Directorate of State (DOS) swiftly disowned its spokesperson, “Emma Powerful,” along with a statement attributed to him calling for a February 2 sit-at-home protest across the South-East.
The protest was purportedly intended as solidarity with Onitsha traders whose shops had earlier been shut by the state government.
According to the Head of DOS, Mazi Chukwukadibia Edoziem, the pseudonym Emma Powerful had been “abused, misused, and compromised,” posing serious risks to IPOB’s operations and the broader Biafran self-determination struggle.
“Certain individuals and groups have subtly deployed the pseudonym as a tool to disrupt the prevailing peace and security in Biafraland,” the statement said.
The DOS further announced that all official IPOB press releases must henceforth be issued strictly on the movement’s official letterhead paper. It also clarified that no authorization was given for any lockdown or sit-at-home order on Monday, February 2.
The unfolding events reflect a broader leadership vacuum within IPOB, occasioned by the prolonged absence of its leader, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who is currently serving a life jail term at Sokoto Prison.
Kanu was convicted on charges bordering on terrorism and treasonable felony, offences linked to his role in orchestrating the Biafran self-determination agitation.
His absence has created space for competing voices and discordant directives within the movement.
Compounding the instability, Simon Ekpa, who briefly assumed prominence following Kanu’s rendition from Kenya, is also currently serving a jail term in Finland.
The simultaneous incarceration of both figures has contributed to what insiders describe as a “things-fall-apart” situation within IPOB, with local commanders and spokespersons increasingly issuing conflicting and sometimes contradictory positions.
The internal crisis was further underscored by reports that IPOB’s Spokesperson and Media/Publicity Secretary tendered his resignation on January 31, 2026, citing internal contradictions and approaches he could no longer support in good conscience.
In the purported resignation letter, he accused certain DOS elements of undermining the movement and alleged that some had engaged with Governor Soludo in ways that weakened the solidarity earlier demonstrated by Onitsha traders.
He also warned the public against false statements being circulated in his name, stressing that Ifeanyi Ejiofor — a lawyer removed from the DOS over two years ago — no longer represents Kanu or IPOB.
Political analysts say Soludo’s intervention has inadvertently emboldened both internal and external actors to challenge IPOB’s hierarchical coherence, exposing vulnerabilities that had long remained beneath the surface.
Observers note that while the governor’s intention was to restore economic normalcy, the unintended consequence has been a public display of leadership fragility within the movement.
As Ndi Anambra prepare to resume full market activities on Monday, the IPOB family finds itself navigating a tense and uncertain terrain — torn between loyalty to absent leaders, internal discord, and the pragmatic demands of everyday life.
The episode calls to mind Dr. Ray Echebiri’s book, The Power of One Man: How the Soludo-Engineered Consolidation Transformed Nigerian Banks to Global Players.
One is left to wonder: will the next thesis be How Soludo Ended the Sit-at-Home Cankerworm? Only time will tell.
