Newly employed local government workers in Cross River State on Wednesday staged a peaceful protest in Calabar, demanding the immediate payment of 11 months’ salary arrears and their inclusion on the state payroll after working for nearly a year without pay.
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Despite heavy rainfall, the protesters, drawn from several local government areas, marched through major streets to the Governor’s Office, carrying placards with inscriptions such as “We Are Suffering,” “Payroll Us” and “We Need Our Salaries.”
Speaking on behalf of the affected workers, Uchi Julius said many of them were employed in 2025 and had continued reporting for duty without receiving any salary.
He said the prolonged delay had subjected the workers and their families to severe hardship, forcing many of them to depend on loans and financial assistance from relatives and friends.
“The prolonged delay has really subjected many workers to severe hardship. Some of us are now struggling to feed our families. Some of us have died during the verification process initiated by the government,” Julius said.
He stated that about 2,000 health workers were said to have been employed as part of the government’s employment programme, but many had still not been added to the payroll.
“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,” he said.
“We didn’t come here to beg for money; we came to ask for what we have worked for. We are hungry. We are dying. We have lost more than six colleagues. They can never return.”
Another protester, Happiness Augustine, said she had worked for about one year without receiving any salary despite diligently carrying out her responsibilities.
“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,” she said.
Augustine appealed to Governor Bassey Otu to intervene urgently, irrespective of any administrative difficulties affecting the payroll process.
“We are begging Governor Bassey Otu to have mercy on us and pay us because we have been diligent in our duties,” she said.
“We are on our knees begging him to pay us. We have families to take care of, and we have continued working without salaries.”
She further alleged that one of their colleagues died in a road accident while travelling for a government screening exercise introduced after an earlier protest by the workers.
Addressing the protesters, the Secretary to the State Government, Anthony Enoh, acknowledged their grievances and said the state government had nearly completed the administrative process required to resolve the matter.
Enoh said the government established a panel of inquiry following the workers’ previous protest and that the panel had submitted its report.
According to him, a white paper recommending the next steps had also been prepared, while the government had moved to the implementation stage.
“When you came here last time, I reported your concerns to the governor and a panel of inquiry was set up,” he said.
“That panel has submitted its report, and we are now at the implementation stage.”
The SSG appealed to the workers to exercise further patience, assuring them that the government would take action 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,” Enoh said.
“Before you come back here again, you will see what the government is going to do in your favour.”
The protest ended peacefully after the government’s assurance, although the workers maintained that they would continue demanding payment of their outstanding salaries and formal inclusion on the state payroll.
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