A peaceful protest by staff of the Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers over seven months of unpaid salaries turned contentious on Wednesday after Council Chairman Chidi Lloyd dismissed the demonstrators as non-genuine employees.

The aggrieved workers gathered at the State House of Assembly Staff Quarters in Port Harcourt, wielding placards and calling on lawmakers to intervene in the prolonged delay in the release of their verification reports and subsequent payment of wages.

Despite their presence at the gate of the quarters, no lawmaker emerged to address the protesters’ grievances.

Speaking to newsmen, one of the protest leaders, Nwaru Solomon, expressed frustration over the council’s failure to pay verified staff. He claimed that while a state-ordered verification exercise had been concluded, over 300 workers who passed the process remain unpaid.

“We have not been paid for more than seven months. The chairman claims we are ghost workers. The governor ordered a verification, which has been concluded, and we know the report is ready. Yet, out of over three hundred verified workers, only seventeen have been paid.”

Solomon provided historical context to the dispute, alleging that Chairman Lloyd had previously expunged names from the payroll during his first tenure in 2021 without authorization from the Local Government Service Commission.

He further claimed that despite Governor Siminalayi Fubara ordering the reinstatement and promotion of those affected, Lloyd removed the names again upon returning for a second term.

“It’s been more than seven months now that the chairman of Emouha local government has not paid us our salaries reason being that he called us ghost workers which the governor of the state ordered for a verification exercise which has been concluded and we are aware that the report is ready but the local government commission has refused to send the report to chairman of different LGAs that is why we have come here to register our displeasure to let the rivers state house of assembly know what we are going through in Emouha local government.”

However, reacting swiftly, Lloyd maintained that the protesters are not legitimate staff of the council, attributing the controversy to a verification exercise conducted in 2022.

He accused previous administrations of bypassing due process in recruitment and alleged that some of the affected individuals were engaged in dual employment, which justified their disengagement.

Unfazed by the protest, the chairman insisted that his administration remains committed to due process.

“I am not worried about those protesting, provided my administration is doing what is right. The protesters should remain calm and await the official outcome of the verification process,” he stated. (Nigerian Tribune)