The Commissioner of Police in Abia, Mr Bala Hassan, said on Monday that there was no form of strike in Abia.
In a telephone interview with our correspondent, Bala said:? “I have monitored the situation in the state and reports from my field officers in Abia show there is no strike in the state.
“The area is calm. People are going about their normal businesses,’’ he said, adding, “The main markets in Umuahia and Aba are open.”
The commissioner advised organised labour in the state to go about their protest peacefully so that hoodlums would not hijack the protest to foment trouble.
Abia is peaceful. We don’t want any form of disturbances to disrupt the peace we are enjoining in the state. We don’t want any form of trouble or bloodshed in Abia.”
Bala said that the command deployed 3,500 officers and men to various flash points to maintain peace before, during and after the strike.
Our correspondents in Umuahia and Aba report that the state secretariat and banks were closed for business, while the Umuahia main market and Ariaria International Market, Aba, opened for business.
Commercial vehicles and motorcyclists plied their routes peacefully, while people were seen going about their normal businesses unhindered.
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