The Anambra State Government has announced that it will begin paying civil servants on a pro-rata basis from February 2026, as part of fresh measures to curb Monday sit-at-home compliance linked to the outlawed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) directive.
The policy, which targets workers who stay away from duty on Mondays, is aimed at forcing a return to work and reducing the huge economic losses caused by the weekly shutdown across the state.
The Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, disclosed this on Saturday in Awka, stating that the decision was taken at the end-of-tenure retreat of the Anambra State Executive Council (ANSEC).
“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.
According to the commissioner, workers’ salaries will now be calculated based on a 24-working-day month, with wages divided accordingly to determine monthly earnings.
He explained that the retreat reviewed the four-year administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo and identified Monday absenteeism as a major obstacle to governance and revenue generation, ahead of 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,” Mefor stated.
Mefor stressed that under existing civil service laws, repeated absence from work could attract disciplinary action, including dismissal, but the government chose a less severe option.
“He added that, under normal circumstances, persistent absence on Mondays could be treated as a case of absenteeism leading to dismissal, as provided in civil service law, but the government has opted for a pro-rata approach instead.”
To ensure compliance, the state government is introducing a clock-in, clock-out system for Mondays.
“The ANSEC retreat has decided to put a stop to the anomaly. So, 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,” he explained.
The commissioner warned that continued absenteeism on Mondays cripples government operations and stalls economic growth.
“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 cited agencies such as the Anambra Internal Revenue Service and other ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) as critical revenue drivers affected by the shutdown.
“For example, if the staff of the Anambra Internal Revenue Service and other MDAs decide to be absent from work on Monday, the state loses a lot of money and impedes the progress of work,” he said.
Mefor ruled out suggestions that the state could swap Mondays for Saturdays as working days, insisting that such a move would signal capitulation.
“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.
The commissioner disclosed that the government is in talks with market leaders and traders to restore full commercial activities on Mondays, alongside strengthened security measures.
“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.
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