The Cross River State Local Government Service Commission has disclosed that the number of persons reportedly recruited during the last local government employment exercise in Cross River State rose from an approved 900 slots to about 7,500 NEGROIDHAVEN has garnered.
Chairman of the commission, Eyo Nsa Ekpo, made the disclosure on Monday during an interaction with some journalists in Calabar.
Ekpo said the state government had initially approved 900 employment slots for the exercise, to be implemented in two phases of 500 and 400 positions respectively.
According to him, records available to the commission showed that the figure later expanded far beyond the approved number, prompting concerns over the integrity of the recruitment process.
“We have it on record that the governor approved 900 slots for employment in two tranches — 500 and 400. The records and approvals are there,” he said.
“How did 900 suddenly jump to 7,500 and even above that?”
The commission chairman said the development was one of the key issues being examined by an investigative panel set up by the state government.
He explained that the panel, headed by Gershom Davies with Mary-Theresa Ikwen, a former Head of Service in the state, serving as secretary, had commenced sittings to examine the recruitment exercise carried out by the dissolved commission.
Ekpo further alleged that the recruitment process did not follow established procedures, noting that the normal process would have involved the creation of a digital application platform and the conduct of interviews and credential verification.
Instead, he said forms were printed and distributed manually while names were collected and forwarded for inclusion in the government payroll.
“Due process was not followed. A proper recruitment process would have involved setting up a digital platform to give everyone a fair chance, followed by interviews and verification of qualifications. But that never happened,” he said.
Ekpo added that the aim of the ongoing investigation was to unravel what transpired during the exercise and enable the government to take decisions that would serve the interest of the state and those affected by the process.
He urged individuals with relevant information, including those who participated in the recruitment exercise, to appear before the panel or submit memoranda.
The panel, he said, is currently sitting at the conference room of the Office of the Head of Service in Calabar and will subsequently move to other parts of the state to receive submissions from the public.
