Businessmen and women in Aba, Abia State complained yesterday that the three-day public holiday negatively affected their businesses.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that besides the public holiday, which the Federal Government declared from Tuesday, the state government also declared today and Monday work-free.
The state government said it declared the two days work-free to honour the late Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, an indigene.
In separate interviews, the business community complained of poor patronage, saying such long breaks should be avoided.
Mrs Nkechinyere Nwachukwu, a vegetable seller at Ahia Ohuru, Aba, said: “The long holiday has affected us so much. People who come with good money to buy goods from us are no longer coming. Now, soon after we come to the market, we start sleeping because of no patronage.
“This is affecting our families. We do not accept this kind of long holiday. The government should not give such again.”
Akwara Amaghiifendu, a textile dealer at Aba Shopping Complex, said the traders had been experiencing poor patronage in the last one year and that the long holiday had worsened it.
He said: “Poor sales have increased during these five days holiday in Abia perhaps because the people who come from outside to buy goods no longer come.
“Again, the banks may not have enough money to disburse to customers since they have not been working since Friday in Abia State.
“It has affected our sales much.”
However, Ogadi Alfred, a dealer in frozen fish and chicken, said “the holiday has nothing to do with the market.
“What happened is that people do not have cash to eat.
“Some complain of being owed salaries while others complain that things are costly in the market but the owed salary seems to be the major problem of the people.
“However, the holiday which kept the banks out of business has dried money in the pockets of the people.
“Banks can only get money to load in ATM machines when traders make sales and deposit but when they are not depositing, there will be no money to load in ATM machines.
“To my understanding, people are complaining not because of the long holiday because if they have money, they will enjoy the holiday but they complain because of the lack of money,” Alfred said.
John Akwarandu, a petty trader in Ahia Ohuru, said that there had been poor sales before the holiday but that the situation got worse since the holiday.
A bus driver, Francis Osakwe, said he used to make N7,000 daily but could hardly realise N3,000 daily now.
He attributed the development to the fact that many might have left the city for the rural areas.