The Cross River State Civil Service Commission has issued an urgent directive to all Forest Guards employed in 2024 to report for a compulsory verification and validation exercise next week, according to an internal memo dated 14th November 2025 and signed by the Commission’s Chairman, Sir Maurice Effiwatt, KSIJ, JP+ NEGROIDHAVEN can authoritatively.
The memo, referenced CRC/433/S.17/VOL.2/365, schedules the exercise across the three senatorial districts as follows:
Monday, 17th November 2025 — Southern Senatorial District
Tuesday, 18th November 2025 — Central Senatorial District
Wednesday, 19th November 2025 — Northern Senatorial District.
The verification exercise is to be held at the Headquarters of the Cross River State Forestry Commission, Calabar, beginning 9:00 a.m. daily.
The Commission has directed all affected Forest Guards to appear physically, and to arrive with both the original and photocopies of their credentials, including two recent passport photographs.
In a firm caution, the memo states that failure to attend will be interpreted as voluntary relinquishment of the appointment, signaling a zero-tolerance stance by the state government on absenteeism and documentation irregularities within the forestry workforce.
The verification drive appears to be part of ongoing efforts to sanitize the public service and strengthen field operations within the forestry sector, an area frequently linked to illegal logging and environmental security concerns across the state.
In a recent phone interaction between Sir Effiwatt and NEGROIDHAVEN, he further noted that this exercise is inspired by the fact between 2024 and 2025, forest guards who were initially recruited had not been paid while others had explored greener pastures. He disclosed that the state government is disposed to pay outstanding financial benefits and thought it wise to first conduct a verification and validation exercise.
More details to follow as this story develops.
