C'River NLC Disrupts Audit/ Verification Exercise In HOS Office
By Victor UDU
The Proposed staff audit and BVN verification exercise organised by the office of the Head of Service for all civil/ public servants in Cross River has been disrupted by the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress.
The Congress leadership had this morning between the hours of 10 and 11 am stormed the venue of the audit exercise and directed all those invited for screening to leave immediately.
Confirming their actions the State NLC Chairman, Comrade Greg Olayi, said thier move was totally in order.
Olayi said it was unfair to invite workers, some from distant places,who have not been paid for two months to appear for an audit and verification exercise giving the harsh economic realities.
He said all staff should be paid first and then an engagement between Head Of Service, HOS, Secretary to State Government (SSG) and labour be held to ascertain the true position of the payroll before an audit of this nature is held.
Recall that the audit/ BVN verification exercise slated for today, Feb 21, 2024 at 10:00am was announced via a release duly signed by the Head of Service, Dr. Innocent Eteng, dated Feb, 20, 2024.
Those invited for the audit, which was to hold in the HOS office in the New secretariat, include all civil/ public servants, unified Local government staff and state and local government pensioners who were omitted from the payroll.
They were requested to appear with their original credentials, BVN and payslips for authentication and clearance.
Following this development the state governor has directed that all unpaid salaries and pensions be paid immediately while those with pending issues be verified and cleared for the implementation of February salaries.
The governor also advised those with duplicate names and accounts to report at the office of the HOS for authentication hoping that through the exercise sufficient funds would be saved to commence the immediate employment of the teeming unemployed Cross Riverians into the state and local government service.
The governor's directives contained in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Emmanuel Ogbeche dated 21, Feb, 2024 disclosed that affected names have been sent to their respective MDAs for further necessary action.
