By Our Reporter
The Cross River State Government has reassured workers in the Local Government Service that all lawfully employed personnel are receiving their salaries as and when due, dismissing claims that it is indebted to newly recruited workers who recently staged a protest in Calabar.
The assurance came from the Chairman of the Cross River State Local Government Service Commission, Hon. Barr. Eyo Nsa Ekpo, in a statement issued yesterday in response to the demonstration by individuals claiming to have worked for 11 months without being enrolled on the state payroll.
Ekpo maintained that no duly employed local government worker in the state was being owed salary, stressing that every legitimate employee who passed through the approved recruitment process and had been captured on the government’s payroll was being paid accordingly.
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“The Cross River State Government is not indebted to any duly employed staff of the Local Government Service. Every legitimate employee of the Local Government Service Commission who was lawfully recruited into service and duly captured on the government payroll is receiving his or her salary as and when due,” he said.
The Commission Chairman, however, described the protesters as victims of an organised employment syndicate, alleging that they were deceived into purchasing fake appointment letters issued outside the official recruitment process.
According to him, preliminary investigations showed that after approval was granted for the recruitment of over 700 personnel into the Local Government Service, some unscrupulous individuals allegedly reproduced employment documents and sold them to unsuspecting job seekers without the knowledge or authorisation of the state government.
He disclosed that Governor Bassey Otu had constituted a panel to investigate the circumstances surrounding the disputed recruitment, adding that the committee had completed its assignment and submitted its report.
Ekpo said the panel established that there was no executive approval for the recruitments under which the protesters claimed employment, insisting that government could not validate appointments that did not originate from the lawful recruitment process.
While expressing sympathy for those affected, he said the state government could not accept responsibility for appointments that were neither authorised nor approved, warning that doing so would amount to legitimising fraud and undermining the integrity of the public service.
He added that the government was considering the recommendations contained in the panel’s report and would implement appropriate decisions arising from it within the next two weeks.
“The decisions of government will be guided by law, fairness and the overriding interest of the people of Cross River State,” he said, adding that those responsible for the alleged recruitment scam would be held accountable.
Ekpo appealed to members of the public, particularly those affected by the development, to remain calm while government concludes the process already initiated, assuring that the administration remained committed to transparency, accountability and due process in public service recruitment.
The protesters had earlier marched through major streets of Calabar, calling on Governor Bassey Otu to approve their enrolment on the state payroll and pay salaries they claimed had remained outstanding for almost one year.
