The Anambra State Government has announced that, beginning February 2026, civil servants’ salaries will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.
The decision comes as part of efforts to counter the economic impact of the weekly Monday sit-at-home ordered by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).
Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, disclosed the measure on Saturday in Awka. He explained that the initiative was adopted during the end-of-tenure retreat of the Anambra State Executive Council.
“The thing has to be done. Four years is enough. The economic loss of the sit-at-home runs into trillions since it started, according to an international firm. It is a decision the state government has taken, and the implementation is already ongoing,” Mefor said.
He clarified that salaries will now be calculated based on a 24-working-day month, with pay divided accordingly to determine the amount due at month’s end.
Ending the Culture of Absenteeism
Mefor said the retreat reviewed Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration over the past four years and set priorities for the new term beginning March 17, 2026.
“The retreat acknowledged that even though these factors existed in the past, they no longer exist, making them invalid reasons for absenteeism from work. The workers were simply enjoying the sit-at-home because they knew that whether they came to work or not, they would be paid salaries,” he stated.
He added that under civil service law, persistent absence on Mondays could normally be treated as grounds for dismissal. However, the government opted for a pro-rata approach instead.
“If you don’t want to lose your salary for that Monday, then you come to work. The mechanism is already in place, and forms are being devised so that workers can clock in on Monday morning and clock out at the close of work,” Mefor explained.
Economic Impact of Absenteeism
The commissioner stressed that absenteeism on Mondays disrupts government operations and hinders state revenue.
“Any day civil servants fail to come to work, it means that the state government’s business will stagnate and, by implication, the economy of the state will stagnate. Income accruable to the government will be lost, and there’s no guarantee that such losses can be recovered,” he said.
He cited the example of the Anambra Internal Revenue Service, noting that when staff fail to report on Mondays, significant revenue is lost, slowing progress across ministries and agencies.
Government Rejects Yielding to Sit-at-Home
Mefor emphasised that the pro-rata measure is intended to ensure fairness and efficiency while signalling that the state will not yield to the sit-at-home directive.
“Do we now say we give up Monday and take Saturday as a working day? That will not work. It will mean that Anambra State has yielded to whoever introduced this sit-at-home, and again, we will be the only state working on Saturdays in Nigeria, and that will be absurd,” he said.
Negotiations are ongoing with market leaders to encourage traders to resume activity on Mondays. The government is also enhancing security measures to reassure businesses and promote compliance.
“The state is losing so much due to the sit-at-home, and the government cannot be asking the markets and other informal sectors to show up on Monday when its own workforce has refused to come,” Mefor concluded.
Sit-at-Home in the South East appeared to have taken a life of its own after IPOB long lifted the order. Many residents still comply out of solidarity with the leader of the group, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, now serving a life jail term in Sokoto prisons.
Even Kalu had called for return to normalcy in the region.
assure businesses. The government insists the new policy is already being implemented.
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