Economic and social activities were this Thursday down in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital, following residents’ total compliance to the purported emergency sit-at-home ordered by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.
According to a viral audio jingle message credited to IPOB, residents of the southeast were warned to observe the civil action in protest to President Muhammadu Buhari’s Thursday visit to Imo State, southeast Nigeria where he is billed to commission some projects executed by the State government.
Also Read: Abia residents observe IPOB sit-at-home action
Roads and streets in Abakaliki city look like a ghost town, as most shops, banks, and filling stations remained closed.
The major market in Abakaliki known as the Saint Margret Umahi International market, rice mill, and other markets which used to be beehives of selling and buying activities are all scanty while a combined team of security agencies were seen patrolling the streets of the State capital.
Lamenting the effect of the situation, Onunu Idenyi, a rice miller, said poor patronage have forced them to close their business for the day.
Such sit-at-home civil action has been the order of the day in the South East region of Nigeria since the month of August 2021, raising deep concerns amongst elites on its negative effect on the economy of the zone which is mainly of trade and commerce.
Editor: Ena Agbanoma
