The Anambra State Government announced it will initiate pro-rata salary payments for employees statewide as part of its efforts to terminate the Monday sit-at-home order imposed by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra throughout the state.
The government announced that, starting February 2026, salaries for state civil servants will be issued on a pro rata basis.
During a conversation with journalists on Saturday in Awka, the state Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, stated that the initiative was established during the end-of-tenure retreat of the Anambra State Executive Council.
Regarding the calculation of the pro-rata payment, the commissioner stated that a worker’s salary would be divided by the 24 working days in a month to figure out their earnings at the month’s conclusion.
“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 revealed that the retreat aimed to evaluate the actions of Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration during its final four-year period and to establish a clearer direction for the new term starting on March 17, 2026.
The commissioner stated that the retreat noted that for the last four years, public and civil servants in Anambra have not reported for work on Mondays because of the sit-at-home, pointing to insecurity and lack 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 mentioned 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.
He stated that discussions are currently in progress to persuade market leaders to consider opening markets on Mondays, noting that the state government is enhancing security to help instill confidence in traders to come out on Mondays and conduct their legal businesses.
