By Kelvin Obambon
The Cross River State Government has officially invalidated and cancelled the recent recruitment exercise conducted by the defunct Local Government Service Commission between 2024 and 2025, following explosive findings of widespread job racketeering, financial irregularities, and lack of executive approval.
The executive action follows the formal submission and review of the Report of the Panel of Enquiry set up to investigate the exercise. In a press release issued on September 9, 2026, signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Anthony Owan Enoh, the government declared the previous exercise fundamentally flawed and lacking in legitimacy.
According to the government, the enquiry revealed severe institutional lapses, including “high scale and wide spread job racketeering, commercialization of employment slots, institutional complicity, ineptitude and breach of public service ethics.”
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Under the new directives, only 821 personnel, whose employments were duly approved by the Governor, will be recognized as legitimate and retained on the government payroll. This number includes 83 personnel from the Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC) who were originally recruited by the Civil Service Commission before being redeployed to the Local Government Service Commission.
All other individuals who joined the state payroll through unauthorized or illegal recruitment channels are being phased out immediately.
“Government deeply sympathizes with every citizen who may have fallen victim to what has been described as a criminal enterprise,” the statement read. “However, Government cannot assume responsibility for appointments that were never authorized, approved or issued through lawful recruitment process. To do otherwise would amount to legitimizing fraud, compromising due process and undermining the integrity of the public service.”
The administration assured that all legitimate employees will continue to receive their salaries as and when due, while those eased out as a result of the nullification will receive compensatory benefits. Further steps are also underway to achieve a comprehensive unbundling and sanitization of the state’s entire payroll.
To address actual staffing shortages, the Cross River State Government has approved a fresh recruitment drive for 4,000 personnel. The new process will leverage digital platforms and modern procedures to ensure transparency, objectivity, and strict adherence to public service regulations.
Affected individuals who possess the requisite qualifications have been encouraged to reapply through the newly established window.
Meanwhile, the state has moved to hold perpetrators accountable. The Attorney-General of Cross River State, alongside relevant law enforcement agencies, has been directed to launch an immediate investigation into the fraudulent exercise and prosecute all culpable individuals in accordance with the law.
Reiterating its commitment to building a transparent and efficient public service, the government appealed to the public and affected persons to remain calm as implementation begins.
