Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State has announced that his government will end the sit-at-home order in the state in 2023.

Soludo made this announcement during the occasion of the 2022 Public Servants Day on Tuesday.

He said Anambra could no longer afford the loss of 20 per cent of its public life to sit-at-home which, he said, is already becoming part of life in the Southeast.

He said his administration had successfully combated criminality which held eight local government areas of the state under siege at the time he was inaugurated in March this year.

“Eight LGAs were totally taken over at the time we came, they said they were unknown gunmen, no, they are known gunmen born of women and from communities.

“Last week, one madman living in Finland said he was declaring sit-at-home, it was only in Anambra that it was not observed. By the time you return next year, we shall stop sit-at-home.

“We must get back to work, working five days a week, we must take back Anambra from the criminals, we can not build a prosperous Anambra when we work four days, when our children go to school four days, that is a 20 per cent loss in productivity,” he said.

The governor had in March declared an end to the sit-at-home order declared in the Southeast by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist group in Nigeria that aims to restore the Republic of Biafra.

However, residents of the state are still observing the order to date.

The governor also announced a salary increment of 10 per cent for workers in the state effective next year.

He said this is meant to cushion the effect of general inflation which is eroding the value of income.

Besides, the governor announced the suspension of Christmas rice gifts to public workers in the state as used to be under the administration of Chief Willie Obiano and its replacement with a monetary gift of N15,000 across the board, including retirees.

He said the review was informed by the inflationary trend which had increased the price of 25kg rice from about N8,000 to N21,000 as well as the need to make workers have options of what to buy according to their various needs.