C’River LG workers storm governor’s office over 11 months’ unpaid salaries

Hundreds of newly employed local government workers in Cross River State, Nigeria, marched through Calabar to the Governor's Office, protesting 11 months of unpaid salaries. Despite a heavy downpour, the workers, many hired in 2025, carried placards demanding their wages and urging Governor Bassey Otu to enroll them on the state payroll.

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We are hungry. We are dying. We have lost more than six colleagues. They can never return.

Uchi Julius, a protest leader, stated that many employees had diligently performed their duties for nearly a year without receiving any compensation. He highlighted the dire consequences, mentioning that some colleagues had died due to hardship caused by the lack of pay. "We are hungry. We are dying. We have lost more than six colleagues. They can never return," Julius said, emphasizing their demand for earned wages, not charity.

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We didn’t come here to beg for money; we came to ask for what we have worked for.

Happiness Augustine, another protester, shared her experience of working for a full year without a single salary payment. She recounted the tragic death of a colleague in a road accident while traveling to a government-organized screening exercise that followed an earlier protest. "We are still waiting for the governor to say something. We are pleading with him to help us," she urged.

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I was employed in 2025. Up till now, I have not been paid. It is one year in my office, and I have not received any salary. We are begging Governor Bassey Otu to have mercy on us and pay us because we have been diligent in our duties.

Responding on behalf of the state government, Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Anthony Owan Enoh, acknowledged the workers' concerns. He informed them that a panel of inquiry, established after a previous protest, had submitted its report and that implementation was underway. "I assure you that within two weeks, all of you will smile. If you have waited for almost a year, two weeks is not too long," Enoh stated, requesting patience from the aggrieved workers.

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We came for a protest before, and a panel was set up. During the screening process, one of our colleagues had an accident on his way and died.