The Cross River State Local Government Service Commission has insisted that it has the exclusive statutory mandate to recruit personnel into the Unified Local Government Service.
The commission stated this on Tuesday in a clarification on the state government’s approval for the recruitment of 4,000 personnel into the Local Government Service across the 18 local government areas of the state.
The statement, signed by the Chairman of the commission, Hon. Eyo Nsa Ekpo, was issued in response to a circular by the Head of Service, Orok Bassey Okon, dated September 11, 2026.
The commission said the clarification became necessary to set the record straight and maintain public confidence and adherence to the rule of law.
It maintained that recruitment into the Unified Local Government Service was the exclusive preserve of the Local Government Service Commission, subject only to the approval of the governor and compliance with relevant laws establishing the commission.
“It is not the duty of the Head of Service to recruit staff into the Local Government Service, nor to meddle in, direct, or interfere with the processes of the Local Government Service Commission,” the commission stated.
It added that the Head of Service lacked the constitutional, statutory or administrative power to undertake such functions.
The commission’s position followed the state government’s earlier decision to approve the fresh recruitment of 4,000 personnel to address manpower gaps across the 18 local government areas.
According to the commission, the new exercise is exclusively for local government jobs and is intended to replace the previous recruitment exercise conducted in 2024/2025 by the defunct Local Government Service Commission.
It said the previous exercise had been invalidated and cancelled, except for 821 personnel whose appointments were duly approved by Governor Bassey Otu, including 83 CROSIEC personnel earlier employed by the Civil Service Commission and redesignated.
The commission alleged that the cancelled exercise was fundamentally flawed, citing lack of executive approval, job racketeering, commercialisation of employment slots, institutional complicity and non-compliance with extant laws and financial regulations.
It said the fresh recruitment would instead be conducted through a transparent, digital and modern process under its statutory mandate.
The commission disclosed that a digital recruitment portal would be opened in due course, adding that persons affected by the cancellation of the previous exercise who possessed the requisite qualifications would be free to reapply.
It also said modalities for appropriate compensatory measures for genuine victims of the flawed recruitment process were being finalised.
The commission further urged stakeholders to be guided by the official position of the Cross River State Government and disregard any contrary circular or directive which, according to it, sought to usurp its lawful functions.
It reaffirmed its commitment to due process, transparency and a merit-based recruitment process as part of efforts to restore public trust in local government administration.
