Fake Appointment Letters Behind LG Salary Protest, Cross River Insists
By Ebi COLLINS
The Cross River State Government has declared that the protest by individuals claiming to be newly employed local government workers who are owed 11 months’ salaries was triggered by the issuance of fake appointment letters by an alleged employment syndicate, insisting that no lawfully recruited employee of the Local Government Service is being owed salaries.
The Chairman of the Cross River State Local Government Service Commission, Hon. Barr. Eyo Nsa Ekpo, stated this in a statement issued on Thursday in response to Wednesday’s protest in Calabar, where the demonstrators demanded enrolment on the state payroll and payment of their purported salary arrears.
Ekpo maintained that every employee lawfully recruited into the Local Government Service and duly captured on the government’s payroll receives salaries as and when due, stressing that the state government is not indebted to any legitimate worker.
“The Cross River State Government is not indebted to any duly employed staff of the Local Government Service. Every legitimate employee who was lawfully recruited into the service and duly captured on the government payroll is receiving his or her salary as and when due,” he stated.
According to the Commission Chairman, the protesters were victims of an organised employment racket that allegedly exploited unsuspecting job seekers by issuing forged appointment letters without the knowledge or approval of the state government.
He explained that although approval had been granted for the recruitment of more than 700 personnel into the Local Government Service, some unscrupulous individuals allegedly reproduced official employment documents and sold them to applicants, falsely presenting them as authentic government appointments.
Ekpo disclosed that the investigative panel constituted by Governor Bassey Edet Otu to probe the alleged recruitment fraud had completed its assignment and submitted its report, which established that there was no executive approval for the purported recruitments under which the protesters claimed employment.
“The panel’s findings confirmed that there was no executive approval for the purported recruitments under which the protesters claim employment,” he said.
While sympathising with those affected by the alleged scam, Ekpo stressed that the government could not validate appointments that did not emanate from the lawful recruitment process, warning that doing so would legitimise fraud and undermine the integrity of the state’s public service.
He disclosed that government was reviewing the panel’s recommendations and would announce its decisions within the next two weeks, assuring that all persons found culpable in the employment scam would be held accountable in accordance with the law.
The Commission Chairman appealed to the affected persons to remain calm while the review process is concluded, assuring that the administration would be guided by due process, fairness and the overriding public interest in taking its final decision.
The protesters had earlier marched through major streets of Calabar to the Governor’s Office, demanding enrolment on the state payroll and payment of salaries they claimed had remained outstanding for 11 months.
