Workers protest alleged non-payment of 5 years’ salaries in C/River

Over 1,700 civil servants in Cross River on Tuesday took to the street to protest the non-payment of five years’ salaries.

NAN reports that the protesters, who converged at the state’s secretariat in the early hours of Tuesday, blocked the entrance to the secretariat.

Displaying placards with various inscriptions, the protesters were sighted chanting solidarity songs, appealing to the state government to pay their alleged five years salaries.

Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: “Where is the food on the table you promised?”, “Hunger is everywhere we are humans and not animals”, “Ayade pay us our salaries”, “We were duly employed. five years is not five days.”

Addressing newsmen, the spokesman of the protesters, Mr Raphael Antigha, stated that since they were employed in 2017 and 2018, they have not been receiving salaries.

According to him, “We have made many emissaries to the government to get them to pay us, and each time, it is the same promises.

“We were duly employed and have all been issued establishment numbers and even appointment letters and properly documented.

“We are just about 1,700 in number and the highest salary amongst us is N47,000.

Responding on behalf of the government, the Head of Service, Mr Ogbang Akwaji, dismissed their claims, saying the state government was not owing any worker salary.

“Cross River government is one state that has placed a great premium on the welfare of its workforce, in spite of the challenging revenue inflows in the state.”