11-month salary protest: Cross River govt says irregular LG workers won’t be paid

The Cross River State Government has defended its ongoing payroll sanitization exercise, characterizing a recent protest by individuals claiming to be unpaid local government workers as an effort to unduly influence the government. The Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Chief Victor Felix Idem, asserted that the protesters are not legitimate employees but individuals whose names were inserted into the payroll through irregular means.

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What we subsequently discovered was that several thousands of additional names had found their way into the system without the approval of government and completely outside the established recruitment process. Those are the irregularities we are painstakingly addressing.

Idem explained that while the government had approved the recruitment of approximately 500 personnel for the Local Government Service, the process was allegedly manipulated, leading to the inclusion of thousands of unauthorized names. "What we subsequently discovered was that several thousands of additional names had found their way into the system without the approval of government and completely outside the established recruitment process," he stated, adding that these are the "irregularities we are painstakingly addressing."

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Every name on the payroll was subjected to rigorous verification. Our goal is simple, to ensure that only duly recruited and lawfully documented employees are paid with taxpayers’ money.

In response to these discoveries, the government initiated reforms, including the removal of implicated officials, the dissolution of the former leadership of the Local Government Service Commission, and the engagement of forensic experts to audit the payroll. Idem emphasized that every name on the payroll underwent rigorous verification to ensure that only properly recruited and documented employees receive payment using taxpayer funds.

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There are no outstanding salaries owed to duly recruited local government workers. Those making such claims are simply not reflecting the true situation. Every legitimate employee captured on the payroll continues to receive his or her salary as and when due.

Commissioner Idem firmly dismissed claims that the government owes legitimate employees 11 months of salaries, stating, "There are no outstanding salaries owed to duly recruited local government workers." He reiterated that genuine employees on the payroll continue to receive their salaries promptly. The administration has warned that it will not yield to pressure to legitimize appointments made outside established procedures, stating, "No amount of blackmail, street protest, media propaganda or emotional appeal will compel this administration to validate appointments that did not follow due process."

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No amount of blackmail, street protest, media propaganda or emotional appeal will compel this administration to validate appointments that did not follow due process.