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| Protesting civil servants yesterday in Calabar (source: Facebook) |
22 September 2020
Monday 21st September 2020 witnessed a long anticipated civil protest organised in Calabar the state capital by some Nigerians who are indigenous to and resident in Cross River bothers on perceived injustice meted by the state government against over 2500 staff of the state civil service.
According to video footages and pictures of placard seen by our correspondent yesterday, these affected civil servants are protesting the delisting of their names from the state payroll. Put differently, these are civil servants duly engaged by the state government but deprived their emoluments and other legitimate financial dues.
According to one netizen whose name was identified to be Nakanda Nakanda the affected civil servants were duly engaged six (2015), four(2017) and one (2019) years ago. Those engaged 6 and 4 years ago were given appointment, and confirmation letters and were payrolled but on September 2019 (another source says exactly 14 September) the Cross River State Government, CRSG, delisted over two thousand five hundred civil servants from the state payroll.
NEGROIDHAVEN further learnt from one Alorye Ushie that there’s was job advertisement in newspapers according to which they were duly engaged. One Naku Stephen Ayima a graduate of Economics said he has his ‘…letter of appointment, permanent appointment letter, confirmation letter and pay slip.’
The protest of over 2,500 civil servants delisted from the C/River civil service which will continue today aims at addressing the injustice in the illegal delisting of the civil servants for over thirteen months now.
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| Nigerian mother affected by the delisting |
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| Nigerian youths affected by the perceived illegal delisting |
The issue which has already been charged to the industrial court has affected five hundred science and mathematics teachers, legal officers etc? Six of those affected have already lost their lives. Some have been hospitalised. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, have not been forthcoming to defend their cause. The Head of Service in the state was said to have worked on them yesterday as they protested to his office at the New Secretariat.
Recall that on 13th September 2019, NEGROIDHAVEN reported about National Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria, NAPTAN, decrying the termination of the engagement of 500 science and math teachers. https://www.negroidhaven.org/2019/12/there-is-no-science-mathematics-teacher.html?m=1. The State Chair of NAPTAN, Professor Boniface Odey in Calabar tasked the state government to reinstate the affected staff as there are just two hundred and seventy-six (276) public secondary schools in Cross River State with just five hundred science and Mathematics teachers.
Recall that on 1st September 2020 this news outfit reported that a 24-page petition signed by Emmanuel Bessong and Rev. Reko Ekpe was alleging that Comrade John Mpama Odey the Auditor General of the State is responsible for the removal of 500 science teachers and 40 lawyers from the State’s payroll unjustly. He is accused of advising the state governor on the now controversial delisting of the over 2500 staff. https://www.negroidhaven.org/2020/09/nigerians-petition-criver-auditor.html?m=1
But the state government is alleging that the these affected staff were not engaged illegally.
