Sit-at-home: Anambra to refund erroneous February salary deductions, says TUC

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The Chairman, Trade Union Congress, Anambra State chapter, Chris Ogbonna, has disclosed that the state government has promised to refund the money erroneously deducted from the February salaries of affected workers who failed to report for work on Mondays, previously declared sit-at-home days by the Indigenous People of Biafra.

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PUNCH Online had reported that the state government announced the commencement of pro-rata salary payments for civil servants as part of efforts to end the Monday sit-at-home protests, stating that effective February 2026, salaries would be adjusted according to attendance.

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However, some workers who received their February salaries reported significant deductions, while some expressed disappointment that the deductions did not align with the normal procedure.

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At the Jerome Udoji State Secretariat in Awka, staff told journalists that the reductions did not match the number of Mondays they missed.

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However, reacting to the development while speaking to journalists on the sidelines during a Thanksgiving service to mark the second-term tenure of the state governor in Awka on Sunday, the state TUC Chairman, Chris Ogbonna, admitted the error in the deduction.

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Ogbonna assured that the state government has promised to refund the money to the affected workers, adding that the promise followed the TUC’s urgent intervention on the matter.

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He said, “I am highly pleased to inform the public that the Anambra State Government under the leadership of our ‘solution’ governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has promised to refund all the over-deducted salaries of all the civil servants and other workers who failed to report for work on Mondays during the heated period.

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“The state government has promised to refund the money where applicable, those of them who deducted their salaries for failing to go to work in respect of the so-called Monday sit-at-home.

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“The promise came following the TUC’s urgent intervention, and I think the state government is processing it now.”

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He added that the TUC in Anambra, under his leadership, is also appealing to the state governor to help refund the money its members paid into the Contributing Pension Scheme operating in the state.

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Ogbonna rated Soludo’s four-year achievements in all sectors of human existence at 85 per cent.

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However, when contacted about the development, the state Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, could not confirm it, but promised to get across to the state Accountant-General.

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Punch Online on March 4 reported that the Anambra State Government has reduced the February salaries of workers who failed to report for duty on Mondays, previously declared sit-at-home days by the Indigenous People of Biafra.

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The state announced the commencement of pro-rata salary payments for civil servants as part of efforts to end the Monday sit-at-home protests, stating that, effective February 2026, salaries would be adjusted based on attendance.

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However, some workers reported significant deductions.

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At the Jerome Udoji State Secretariat in Awka, staff told journalists that the reductions did not always match the number of Mondays they missed.

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One worker, who requested anonymity, said a colleague received only N10,000 for February after deductions.

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Another from the Ministry of Information said, “Out of my total salary of over N80,000, I received just N3,500.”

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