The Anambra State Government has initiated a new move to end sit at home directive enforced by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra across the state.
Going forward, the state government said it will be paying workers according to the number of days present at work.
Effective February 2026, salaries of civil servants in the state will be paid on a pro-rata basis, explained the state Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor.
Mefor said the initiative was reached during the end-of-tenure retreat of the Anambra State Executive Council.
On how the pro-rata payment will be calculated, the commissioner said the 24 working days in a month would be used to divide a worker’s salary to determine what they would earn at the end of the month.
“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 disclosed that the retreat was held to review the activities of the administration of Governor Chukwuma Soludo in its concluding four-year tenure, as well as to craft a better focus for the new term commencing on March 17, 2026.
The commissioner said the retreat observed that for the past four years, Anambra public and civil servants did not show up for work on Mondays due to the sit-at-home, citing insecurity and the unavailability of transportation.
He said, “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 know that whether they come to work or not, they will be paid salaries.
“The ANSEC retreat has decided to put a stop to the anomaly. Ordinarily, the matter should be treated as a case of absenteeism, which could lead to dismissal from service, as captured in the civil service law.
“But we are not following that route. The state government has decided to pay pro-rata from this February. 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.”
Mefor also noted that the absence of civil servants from work on Mondays negatively affects the productivity of the state government.
He added, “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.
“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. This is part of the reason for the decision to pay pro-rata: it is to ensure that every naira spent reflects fairness, efficiency and sustainability.
“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.
“So, it is only reasonable to start with this pro-rata payment to get the workers to resume on Mondays. 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,” he added.
According to him, negotiations are already ongoing to get market leaders to see reasons to open markets on Mondays, adding that the state government is also boosting security as a way of building traders’ confidence to come out on Mondays and carry out their legitimate businesses.
