Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
All major markets in Anambra State would be shut down today following the declaration of public holiday in honour of the first President of Nigeria Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s posthumous birthday.
Governor Willie Obiano had in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. James Eze, urged the people to observe it as a work free day in commemoration of Zik’s birthday.
It was based on the directive by the government that the President of Anambra State Amalgamated Traders Association (ASMATA) Chief Ikechukwu Ekwegbalu in a circular directed all markets leaders to shut down their markets to honour Zik.
The circular issued to market leaders read: “The state governor has issued a directive that all the markets in Anambra state should be closed on (today) Monday November 18 in commemorative posthumous birthday celebration of our icon, Hon. Dr. Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Owelle of Onitsha.”
Also shutdown were schools, government offices, some banks, which some people said would affect the economy of the state.
Eze in the statement said Governor Obiano had used the opportunity of the commissioning of Zik Mausoleum in January to appeal to the Federal Government to set aside a public holiday in honour of the first president of the country as Ghana did for Kwame Nkrumah, Kenya for Jomoh Kenyatta, Tanzania for Julius Nyerere and Angola for Agostinho Neto.