By Ike Uchechukwu CALABAR

Thousands of aggrieved local government workers in Cross River State on Tuesday protested at the Federal Secretariat in Calabar, rejecting the state government’s claim that 3,000 of them had been reinstated and describing the announcement as a “huge hoax”.

The protesters, who also visited the Local Government Service Commission, said they had remained without salaries for months despite working in various local government departments, health centres and revenue units across the state.

They lamented that prolonged non-payment of salaries had left many of them sick and struggling to meet their basic needs.

The protest followed a recent statement by Governor Bassey Otu, issued through his Chief Press Secretary, Linus Obogo, announcing that 3,000 local government workers had been reabsorbed and would be returned to the payroll.

Speaking with journalists during the protest, the group’s leader, Mr Julius Uchi, disputed the announcement, insisting that the affected workers had not been reinstated.

“We were not among the people they claimed have been reabsorbed. That information is totally false,” Uchi said.

Uchi, who said he was employed in 2025 and posted to the Youth and Sports Department of Obudu Local Government Council, said the affected workers had yet to receive any salaries, prompting them to resume protests.

He said the workers did not receive any official communication from the government on the purported reinstatement, adding that they only learnt about it through social media following the governor’s press statement.

Uchi said the workers had embarked on several protests over their employment status, leading to the establishment of a commission and subsequently a panel of inquiry before the government eventually issued a notice nullifying the recruitment exercise.

He questioned the governor’s reference to reinstatement, arguing that the affected workers were never placed on the payroll in the first place.

“When the governor talked about reinstatement, we didn’t understand, because nobody was removed from the payroll in the first place. Salaries have been paid to others, but we have received nothing,” he said.

He maintained that the workers were duly recruited after undergoing screening, document verification and clearance by their respective local government councils and the Local Government Service Commission.

According to him, their records were also captured by the Auditor-General before they were deployed to their respective duty posts.

“We went through the same process others went through, and they were placed on payroll. Some of us even started working before those people,” he said.

Uchi added that the affected workers had continued to discharge their duties, including providing services in health centres and revenue-generating departments.

“None of us passed through the back door, none of us paid a kobo to anyone, and we were not illegally employed. The government has enjoyed our services. We want our pay,” he said.

Receiving the protesters at his office, the Public Complaints Commission’s Federal Commissioner for Cross River State, Dr Owa Egbara, commended them for their orderly conduct and said he had studied their petition.

Egbara described employment as a binding contract, stressing that employers must fulfil their obligations where workers had already commenced their duties.

“Employment is a binding contract. If someone has started work and is cut short midway, the government, as employer, must make restitution. It is against the rules to employ a person and then terminate the engagement midway,” he said.

He warned that failure to follow due process could result in litigation, adding that the Ombudsman would intervene in the matter.

“Once it gets to litigation, the Ombudsman will stand for the public,” he said.

Egbara disclosed that the commission would write to the Head of Service and the Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission to ascertain the status of the affected workers and establish the basis for the alleged selective treatment.

“We have heard that some were treated as employed while others were abandoned. We need to know the reality and the basis on which this was done,” he said.

Cross River sacked LG workers reject reinstatement claim, protest

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