The Anambra State Government has formally abolished the long-standing Monday sit-at-home practice in the state, issuing a sweeping Executive Order that compels all schools and public offices to operate fully on Mondays, while threatening salary deductions and forfeitures for defiant staff.
The new directive, which takes immediate effect, specifically targets teachers and non-tutorial staff in public schools, warning that failure to report for duty on Mondays could result in the loss of 20 per cent of their monthly salary or, in severe cases, forfeiture of their entire pay.
The decision was communicated in an official letter dated January 22, 2026, signed by the Board Secretary of the Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board (ASUBEB), Mrs. Loveline Mgbemena. The letter, titled “Executive Order on Termination of Monday Sit-at-Home in Anambra State,” was addressed to permanent board members, education officers in charge of the state’s 21 local government areas, zonal directors, and heads of departments.
In the letter, Mgbemena directed all senior education officials to immediately circulate the directive to staff under their supervision and ensure what she described as “adequate compliance” across the board.
“Sequel to the State Executive Council retreat held on January 21, 2026, presided over by the State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, I am directed to inform you that the state government has decided that the protracted Monday sit-at-home in Anambra State has been abolished with immediate effect,” the letter stated.
It further warned that the order represents an executive decision of the state government and must be strictly enforced without exception.
“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 or her salary or forfeit it entirely,” the letter added.
The government’s action marks its most forceful attempt yet to dismantle the sit-at-home culture that has persisted in Anambra State and other parts of the South-East for more than four years, despite repeated assurances by authorities that normalcy has returned.
The Monday sit-at-home practice began on August 9, 2021, following a directive by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which ordered a weekly shutdown of economic and social activities across the South-East to demand the release of its detained leader, Nnamdi Kanu. At the time, IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, instructed residents to stay indoors every Monday, while schools, markets, banks, motor parks and public offices were ordered to shut down.
Although IPOB later announced the suspension of the sit-at-home order, compliance continued in many communities, driven largely by fear of violent attacks, arson, and reprisals against those who defied the directive. Over the years, sporadic violence linked to enforcement of sit-at-home orders has been reported in parts of Anambra and neighbouring states, reinforcing public anxiety.
The Soludo administration has repeatedly condemned the sit-at-home practice, describing it as a major drag on the state’s economy, education system and overall development. Government officials have argued that the weekly shutdown has crippled school calendars, reduced instructional hours, discouraged investment, deepened poverty and undermined governance.
According to the state government, the cumulative impact of losing every Monday to inactivity has been devastating, particularly in the education sector, where thousands of teaching hours are lost annually. Officials say the disruption has widened learning gaps, affected examination performance and placed Anambra students at a disadvantage compared to their peers in other states.
The new Executive Order appears designed to force a decisive break from the past by using salary sanctions as leverage to compel compliance, especially among public servants whose participation in sit-at-home observance has continued, either voluntarily or out of fear.
However, the directive has sparked unease and quiet resistance among teachers and school workers, many of whom argue that security concerns, rather than sympathy for IPOB or any political agenda, are the primary reason people stay indoors on Mondays.
Some teachers who spoke anonymously said they fear that the government’s hardline approach does not sufficiently address the underlying security issues that made the sit-at-home effective in the first place.
“Many of us want to go to work, but we are afraid,” one primary school teacher in Awka said. “If something happens on Monday, will the government protect us? Salary deduction is not our biggest fear; safety is.”
Others expressed concern that the policy could punish vulnerable workers who live in rural or flashpoint areas where fear of attacks remains high, even if actual incidents have reduced in recent months.
Despite these concerns, the Anambra State Government appears resolute. Officials insist that fear must not be allowed to dictate public life and that the state cannot continue to lose one full working day every week to insecurity driven shutdowns.
Government sources argue that security agencies have been deployed across the state to ensure safety, and that continued observance of sit-at-home only emboldens criminal elements and undermines state authority.
The administration has also framed the directive as part of a broader effort to restore law and order, revive economic activities, and reclaim Anambra’s reputation as a commercial and educational hub in the South-East.
Analysts note that the move carries political and social risks, as it places the burden of enforcing normalcy on ordinary workers rather than directly confronting the deeper security and trust deficits that sustain the sit-at-home culture.
Nonetheless, the Soludo government maintains that decisive action is necessary, warning that failure to act would amount to surrendering governance to fear and non-state actors.
As the Executive Order takes effect, attention will now turn to its enforcement and the response of teachers, civil servants, parents and students. Whether salary sanctions will succeed in breaking years of entrenched behaviour, or provoke further tension, remains to be seen.
What is clear is that Anambra State has entered a new phase in its long struggle to end Monday sit-at-home, with the government betting that firm administrative measures will finally restore full academic and economic activity across the state.
