Governor Charles Soludo has defended the closure of several markets in Anambra State by security and government agencies.
During a visit to the affected areas, Soludo clarified that his intervention was not about drug enforcement, as such matters fall under the federal government’s jurisdiction.
Instead, he sought to understand why markets near the drug hub, which were shut down for selling illicit and counterfeit goods, remained closed.
The governor revealed that market leaders informed him of alarming discoveries made by regulators and security agencies in the plumbing materials market. He dismissed calls from political figures urging the reopening of the markets, labeling them as media-driven distractions.
His statement follows repeated appeals from the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who argued that the closures were harming innocent traders’ livelihoods.
While Soludo supported the federal government’s crackdown on counterfeit and controlled substances, he assured that actions were being taken to fast-track the reopening of the plumbing materials market, with traders expected to resume business within ten days.
“I visited the Ọgbọ ogwu and adjoining market today in Onitsha. As the biggest open drug market in Africa, it is not surprising that Federal Agencies and regulatory bodies would, from time to time, visit the market to enforce standards and check the sale of fake, counterfeit, and controlled drugs in the market.
“With drugs and related matters captured strictly on the exclusive list, my visit today was interventionist. First, I sought to ascertain why other markets close to the drug market in Onitsha were closed. Away from the media sensation created by a few political actors, the leadership of the Plumbing materials market, which was shut down alongside the drug market, confirmed to me that the discoveries made by the Regulators in some shops in the plumbing material market were both shocking and disturbing.
“Right inside these shops were found cartons of counterfeit and controlled drugs, many of which had been banned globally. How these drugs, which have been banned globally and locally, are still being manufactured in India, pass through our various ports (sea and air), and find their way to our local drug markets remains a question only the relevant authorities can answer.
“While we must rid our country of fake and counterfeit drugs, it is important for the Federal Government to tighten up the noose on the supply end of the value chain. I have directed that the search, which had commenced a few days ago, be expedited so that in less than 10 days from today, the traders at the Plumbing materials market can be allowed to reopen and commence their legitimate commercial activities.
“As a government, we are already building a coordinated wholesale drug centre in Oba, Idemili South LGA, that will accommodate the new and standardized Ogbo ogwu market. This is our own contribution to ending the current chaotic market environment where fake and counterfeit drugs thrive.
“ONITSHA remains the largest trading hub in Africa, we will further expand this status to a more befitting height.
“May Anambra Continue to win!,” Soludo wrote in a statement via his account early on Sunday morning.
