Ministries, Departments and Agencies in Abia recorded a low turnout of civil servants as work resumed yesterday after the New Year celebration.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), which monitored the resumption in Umuahia, reports that only a few workers were at their duty posts.
Most offices at the State Secretariat in Ogurube Layout, Umuahia, were locked while the few workers around were cleaning up their offices.
The incursion of harmattan dust on building openings made the secretariat look like a place deserted for months.
Other workers were in groups, exchanging pleasantries and sharing holiday experiences.
Also at the secretariat, eatries and shops had yet to open for business, while car parks were almost empty.
It was gathered that many workers who travelled home for the celebration, were yet to return.
Most workers refused to speak, saying they were not permitted to grant interviews to the press.
But some of them, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said majority of those who travelled may not come back till weekend and probably resume on Monday.
A director in Ministry of Lands and Survey, while condemning the low turnout, said it was a breach in civil service rules.
“Work has resumed and you can see me in office, but I cannot do much because those working with me are yet to resume.
“I appeal to them to come to work because a directive for resumption was passed even before the holiday,” he said.
A civil servant, Mrs Christy Kalu, said the low turnout was usually witnessed after festivities.
She said more events take place within this festive period, especially in Igboland, as most people usually stay behind to witness them.