Ukorebi Esien | July 30, 2026
CALABAR — The Cross River State Government has uncovered what it described as an organised fake local government employment syndicate that allegedly defrauded hundreds of job seekers by issuing fraudulent appointment letters, even as Governor Bassey Otu has given a two-week timeline for the implementation of recommendations from a panel that investigated the controversial recruitment.
Chairman of the Cross River State Local Government Service Commission, Hon. Barr. Eyo Nsa Ekpo, disclosed this in a statement issued in Calabar on Thursday while reacting to a protest by individuals claiming to have been recruited into the local government service but who alleged they had not been paid salaries.
Ekpo said the investigative panel, constituted by Governor Otu to examine the circumstances surrounding the disputed recruitment, had completed its assignment and submitted its report to the state government.
According to him, the government is studying the panel's recommendations and has assured that decisions arising from the report will be implemented within the next two weeks.
"The government is carefully studying the recommendations contained in the panel's report and has assured that appropriate decisions arising from those recommendations will be taken and implemented within the next two weeks," he said.
He stated that the decisions would be guided by the provisions of the law, fairness and the overriding interest of the people of Cross River State.
The commission chairman said the panel established that there was no executive approval for the recruitment under which the protesters claimed to have been employed.
He alleged that the affected persons were victims of an organised employment syndicate that exploited desperate job seekers by issuing fake appointment letters in exchange for money.
According to him, the syndicate allegedly hijacked a legitimate recruitment exercise approved by the state government for over 700 positions by reproducing official employment documents and selling them to unsuspecting applicants without the knowledge or authorisation of government.
Ekpo maintained that the Cross River State Government was not owing any legitimately employed local government worker, stressing that all workers lawfully recruited and duly captured on the government payroll were receiving their salaries as and when due.
"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 service and duly captured on the government payroll is receiving his or her salary as and when due," he said.
While expressing sympathy for those who fell victim to the alleged recruitment scam, Ekpo insisted that the government could not accept responsibility for appointments that were neither authorised nor approved through the lawful recruitment process.
He warned that validating such appointments would amount to legitimising fraud and undermine the integrity of the state's public service.
The commission chairman assured that the state government remained committed to ensuring that those behind the alleged employment scam were brought to justice while safeguarding the interests of innocent citizens.
He appealed to the affected persons to remain calm and allow the government to conclude the ongoing process, assuring that the Otu administration would continue to uphold transparency, accountability and due process in public service recruitment.
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