Soludo Cracks the Whip: Teachers to Lose 80% of Salary for Observing Sit-at-Home
AWKA — The Anambra State Government has declared an all-out administrative war on the lingering Monday “sit-at-home” culture, issuing a tough new Executive Order that threatens severe financial sanctions for school staff who fail to show up for work.
In a directive released this weekend, Governor Chukwuma Soludo effectively drew a line in the sand: any tutorial or non-tutorial staff who observes the sit-at-home order will either forfeit their entire salary or receive only 20 percent of their monthly pay.
The government conveyed this strict stance in a memo titled “Executive Order on Termination of Monday Sit-at-Home in Anambra State,” dated January 22, 2026.
“The Sit-at-Home Is Abolished”
The memo, signed by Loveline Mgbemena, the Board Secretary of the Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board (ASUBEB), leaves no room for ambiguity. It describes the continued closure of schools on Mondays as an illegal practice that the administration has officially “abolished with immediate effect.”
“Sequel to the state exco retreat held on January 21, 2026, presided over by Governor Chukwuma Soludo, I am directed to inform you that the protracted Monday sit-at-home in Anambra State has been abolished,” the memo read.
Mgbemena mandated all Education Secretaries, Zonal Directors, and Head Teachers to enforce the order immediately, warning that negligence would attract direct consequences.
The 20% Salary Clause
The most striking element of the new order is the financial penalty. Unlike previous warnings which threatened vague “disciplinary actions,” this directive attaches a specific price tag to compliance.
“By this directive, any staff both tutorial and non-tutorial that fails to attend school or office on Monday will either receive 20 per cent of his/her salary or forfeit it entirely,” the statement warned.
This move signals that the Soludo administration is shifting its strategy from persuasion to financial coercion to restore the full five-day academic week in the state.
Background: A Long Battle
The Monday sit-at-home order, originally introduced by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in August 2021 to protest the detention of Nnamdi Kanu, has crippled the region’s economy and education sector for years.
Although IPOB leadership has repeatedly announced the cancellation of the order, “non-state actors” and criminal elements have continued to enforce it through intimidation, turning Mondays into “ghost days” across the Southeast.
Governor Soludo has consistently fought against the order since assuming office, famously declaring that Anambra loses billions of naira every Monday the state shuts down. With this latest Executive Order, the Governor is betting that the fear of losing a paycheck will finally outweigh the fear of the sit-at-home enforcers.