C’River LG Workers Storm Governor’s Office Over 11 Months’ Unpaid Salaries
Newly employed local government workers in Cross River State have staged a peaceful protest in Calabar over 11 months of unpaid salaries, urging Governor Bassey Otu to approve their enrolment on the state payroll.
The protesters, drawn from local government areas across the state, defied a heavy downpour to march through major streets to the Governor’s Office, brandishing placards that read “We are suffering,” “Payroll us,” and “We need our salaries.”
Speaking for the group, protest leader Uchi Julius said many of those employed in 2025 had reported for duty and worked diligently for nearly a year without pay, a delay he said had pushed some colleagues to their deaths.
“We are hungry. We are dying. We have lost more than six colleagues. They can never return,” Julius said.
“One of the campaign promises was massive employment. Today, the 2,000 health workers said to have been employed are here, yet many of us have not been paid.
“We didn’t come here to beg for money; we came to ask for what we have worked for,” he said.
Among the protesters was Happiness Augustine, who said she had rendered a full year of service without receiving a single salary.
“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,” she said.
Augustine disclosed that a colleague died in a road accident while travelling to a government-organised screening exercise held after an earlier protest.
“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.
“We are still waiting for the governor to say something. We are pleading with him to help us,” she said.
Responding on behalf of the government, Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Anthony Owan Enoh, said a panel of inquiry set up after the earlier protest had submitted its report, with a white paper now guiding implementation.
“When you came here last time, I reported your concerns to the governor and a panel of inquiry was set up. That panel has submitted its report, and we are now at the implementation stage,” Enoh said,
Enoh, who urged the workers to be patient, assured them something would be done within two weeks.
“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,” he said.
