By EHIGIMETOR IGBAUGBA

Local Government Workers drawn from the 18 council areas of Cross River on Monday staged a peaceful protest over 11 months unpaid salaries.

The workers who said they were newly employed staff members under the Cross River State Unified Local Government Service Commission, appealed to the governor for intervention.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the protesting workers carrying placards with various inscriptions, emphasised that they have not been paid since April 2025.

They also bemoaned not being enrolled into the state payroll despite being duly employed by the government.

Speaking during the protest, one of the workers who identified himself as Paul Agbor, said the demonstration was aimed at drawing the attention of the state government to their plight.

“We are out here to appeal to the government to look into the situation of newly recruited local government workers. We are not on the payroll, yet we have been going to work consistently. That is why we are here to table our issue before the rightful authority,” he said.

According to the protesters, the prolonged delay in salary payments has left many of them struggling to meet basic needs, including feeding their families and sending their children to school.

In a written appeal addressed to the governor, the workers thanked the administration for the employment opportunity but said the continued non payment of salaries had created severe hardship for them.

“For over nine months now, many of us who were employed through the Local Government Service Commission have been reporting to our duty posts faithfully without being placed on the payroll.

“Despite our commitment to serve the state diligently, we have not received salaries to sustain ourselves and our families,” the workers stated in the letter.

They noted that some of them had abandoned small private businesses or relocated from distant communities to take up the government appointments, only to face financial hardship due to the delay in salary payments.

“Among us are parents whose children have been unable to return to school. Feeding our families and fulfilling basic responsibilities have become extremely difficult,” the statement added.

Responding to the protesters, Prof. Anthony Owan-Enoh, the Secretary to the State Government, assured them that the government was already addressing the issue.

Owan-Enoh acknowledged the workers’ right to protest and disclosed that the state government had already held several meetings to resolve the matter.

“What you are doing is your right, and nobody will say they are against you,” he told the protesters.

“I can assure you that we have had about three meetings already on the issue of local government employment, recruitment, and payroll.

“By Thursday, we are going to have the final meeting with His Excellency, who has been away in Abuja for some important engagements,” he added.

He explained that the delay was partly due to the need to verify genuine employees and resolve administrative issues within the commission.

“We are aware there were some hitches along the way before the employment process was concluded, which led to some shake-up in the Local Government Service Commission.

“The governor wants to ensure that only those genuinely employed are placed on the payroll,” he said.

Enoh assured the workers that the matter would be resolved soon and encouraged them to remain patient.

“You were employed by the government and everything will be followed duly and procedurally. Those who are genuinely employed will be placed on the payroll,” he said. (NAN)