Protest Threatens Soludo’s March 17 Swearing-In as Scores of Sacked Workers Poise for Showdown

By Our Correspondent

Over 200 workers of the Anambra Internal Revenue Service (AIRS) have threatened to stage a protest on March 17, 2026, to express their displeasure over what they described as their unjust dismissal by the state government.

The aggrieved workers said the protest is scheduled to take place at the popular Aroma Junction near Ekwueme Square in Awka, the venue where Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo is billed to be sworn in for a second term in office.

According to them, the retrenchment order issued against them for failing a strategic tax collection examination organised by the state government in collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers was not in line with the new tax law.

They argued that the law provides for revenue agencies across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT to operate autonomously, including the training and retraining of their staff without external interference.

The AIRS management, in an internal memo dated February 18, 2026, from the Administration Department and signed by Nwalusi Ifeanyi, Admin/HR for the Chairman/Chief Executive, ordered the retrenchment of Community Revenue Officers and other staff for their inability to pass the examination.

Part of the memo read: “As part of AIRS’s ongoing restructuring and based on the PwC-administered CBT results, I am directed to convey approval of retrenchment for Community Revenue Officers on the attached list, having not met the required pass mark.

“Action required: Hand over all AIRS tools, ID cards and materials in your possession to the Administration/HR Department.

Deadline: Complete handover on or before Tuesday, February 19, 2026. The layoff takes immediate effect.
Compliance: Failure to comply will attract sanctions, including possible legal action.”

Speaking during a press conference in Awka on Friday, the distressed workers, who pleaded anonymity, appealed to Governor Soludo to urgently intervene to save them from what they described as impending hardship.

According to them, by the provisions of the new tax law, PricewaterhouseCoopers has no right to interfere in the affairs of AIRS.

“As far as we are concerned, the retrenchment exercise is a misuse of governance,” one of the workers said.

“What PwC did in the name of a tax collection examination amounts to professional misconduct.
“If the retrenchment order eventually stands, it means the seven years many of us have laboured for AIRS will be in vain.

“This is the first time the majority of us are sitting for such an examination. A first attempt should not be used to judge our competence in the taxation sector.

“We are appealing to our hardworking governor to return us to our various departments to enable us learn. Sacking us is not the best option. What we need is training and retraining.”

The workers said the planned protest is aimed at drawing the governor’s attention to their plight.
“We are also appealing to the AIRS management to withdraw the retrenchment memo in the interest of the long-standing relationship with the affected workers,” they added.