Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has denied media reports that he threatened to cut salaries of workers who fail to go to work on Mondays in compliance with the instruction of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
This is coming barely 24 hours after the Governor addressed workers in the state at the Ekwueme Square, Awka during the 2023 Workers’ Day celebration.
A statement by Chris Aburime, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, said the workers were not threatened. According to him, the governor only advised the state workers to stop staying at home on Mondays.
“He didn’t threaten to cut salaries. He only advised them to stop staying at home on Mondays and report to work from Monday to Friday,” Aburime said.
Ikengaonline reported that the governor, Monday, questioned the commitment of workers in Anambra State civil service over the continued observance of sit-at-home exercise in the state.
“Monday sit-at-home has become an excuse for workers to stop coming to work on Mondays. This cannot continue. You cannot be working for just four days a week and earn full salaries.
“We must get back to working on Mondays. If we do not go to work, we must not get our full salary. We must be paid proportionally with the number of days we work. If we must continue staying away from work on Mondays, then we will start coming to work on Saturday,” Soludo said.
The report said that he took workers through the realities of the current socioeconomic situation in the state and and country, asking for understanding and joining of hands in the struggle to move the state forward.
Soludo called on the workers to buckle down and work towards generating revenue to the government in order to take care of the workers’ welfare and other state’s pressing issues.
He said that there is pressure on him to increase salaries and down size workforce, urging labour leaders to study the proposal.
