The Anambra State Government has reduced the February salaries of civil servants who failed to report to work on Mondays, as part of efforts to discourage compliance with the long-running sit-at-home directive associated with the Indigenous People of Biafra.
State authorities introduced a pro-rata salary system beginning in February 2026, meaning workers’ wages are calculated based on their attendance.
Officials say the policy is intended to restore normal work activities on Mondays across the state.
However, several workers have raised concerns about the scale of the deductions, claiming the reductions do not correspond with the number of days they actually missed.
At the Jerome Udoji State Secretariat in Awka, some employees said the deductions were far higher than expected.
One staff member, who spoke anonymously, said a colleague received only ₦10,000 as February salary after the deductions were applied.
Another worker from the Ministry of Information said the reduction was even more severe.
According to the worker, more than ₦80,000 was deducted from a salary of over ₦80,000 despite missing work on only two Mondays.
Several employees believe the deductions may have resulted from errors in calculating attendance records.
One civil servant explained that some colleagues who missed work only once or twice still experienced significant salary reductions.
Workers are now calling on the government to review the calculations to ensure fairness.
The Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Dr. Law Mefor, confirmed that the deductions were intentional and designed to enforce workplace attendance on Mondays.
He explained that the government introduced a clock-in and clock-out system to verify whether employees reported for duty.
According to the commissioner, workers must register their presence by clocking in at the start of the day and clocking out at the end of work hours.
Failure to complete both processes is treated as absence because there is no official evidence that the worker was present.
The policy forms part of broader efforts by the state government to end the Monday sit-at-home practice, which has disrupted economic and public activities in parts of southeastern Nigeria for several years.
