The Imo State Government has warned that it will no longer tolerate civil servants in the State who absent themselves from work on account of the Indigenous People of Biafra-proclaimed Mondays-sit-at-home order in the Southeast region.
IPOB had, in the wake of the arrest, detention and prosecution of its leader, Nnamdi Leader, imposed a sit-at-home order in the South-east every Monday to protest his ordeal, and pressurise the Federal Government into releasing him. But the order had no positive effect on Kanu’s situation, as the FG ignored it. Instead, it brought untold hardship, violence, death, pain, sorrow, and the economy of the region to its knees.
Appreciating what the order has done to the region it said it is protecting, and under so much pressure from concerned South-easterners, IPOB suspended the ritual, and restricted it to only the days Kanu would appear in Court.
However, a group led by a self-proclaimed disciple of Kanu, Simon Ekpa, has since continued to enforce the order in defiance of both the stand of IPOB and Kanu. Both IPOB and Kanu have since declared him a rogue but he has continued and even promoted himself above Kanu.
Taking advantage of the order, many people, including civil servants refuse to go to work and enjoy every Monday as a work-free day It is gradually killing the Civil Service.
Based on this, the Imo State Government, like other South-east Governments, especially Anambra and Enugu, has decided to finally put a stop to it.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, the State Commissioner for Information, Declan Emelumba, directed that any member of the State workforce that absents themselves from their duty posts on account of the observation of the sit-at -home order should not be paid at the end of the month.
Furthermore, the statement noted that the State Government will, henceforth, treat such absenteeism as a direct confrontation with duly constituted authorities in the State .
Reads the statement, “The Government of Imo State has observed with dismay that some civil servants, for inexplicable reasons, absent themselves from duties especially on Mondays .
“This is totally unacceptable, moreover since such civil servants neither obtained permission nor have authorization of their superiors to abstain from duty, thereby making their conducts illegal and unprofessional.
“Consequently, the Government will henceforth view such rascally conduct as a direct challenge to its authority, which will attract sanctions.
Going forward, His Excellency, the Governor of Imo State, has directed that any civil servant who absents himself /herself from duty on Mondays and or any other days for that matter, will lose his/ her salary in addition to other punishments that may be recommended against him/her.”
To ensure a strict implementation of the policy, the state Government has directed all Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Parastatals and other relevant officials to closely monitor the work attendance rate of staffers under them.
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