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The Anambra State Government has reduced the February salaries of workers who failed to report to work on Mondays, which had previously been declared sit-at-home days by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The government had earlier announced that, starting February 2026, civil servants’ salaries would be paid on a pro-rata basis to discourage the Monday sit-at-home. It also declared an official end to the protest.
“The government observed that some workers have taken advantage of the situation, knowing they would receive full salaries regardless of attendance,” the government had announced.
“Although such conduct amounted to absenteeism punishable under the civil service rules, the government opted for a less drastic approach by introducing pro-rata salary payment.”
However, many workers reportedly felt dismayed when they received their February salary alerts, which showed substantial deductions.
At the Jerome Udoji State Secretariat in Awka, the state capital, some employees told journalists on Tuesday that the deductions did not match the number of Mondays they missed.
One worker, speaking anonymously, said a colleague received only N10,000 for February after deductions. Another, from the Ministry of Information, said he received just N3,500 from a salary of over N80,000.
He added, “One of my colleagues said she received her salary with N10,000 deducted. The cuts are irregular, but I think there were errors in the computation because some people who missed work only once or twice had substantial deductions from their salaries.”
Another employee noted, “I am surprised to see huge deductions when I received the alert for my February salary.
“Over N80,000 was deducted from my salary for missing work for two Mondays. I think it was miscalculated, as two Mondays were not supposed to be up to that amount.”
The state Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, reportedly stated that the deductions were a penalty for missing work on Mondays.
“The salary cut is a punishment for failing to come to work on Mondays,” he told the media.
“The instruction was that when you come to work on Mondays, you clock in, and at the close of work, you clock out. That is to show that you came to work.
“But if you came to work on Mondays, but you didn’t clock in, and didn’t clock out, it means that you didn’t come to work because there is no evidence to show that you came to work.”
