Title: Cross River LG Workers Stage Protest Over 11 Months Unpaid Salaries Date Published: 10 March 2026 Description: Workers drawn from the 18 local government areas of Cross River State on Monday staged a peaceful protest over the non-payment of their salaries for 11 months.The demonstrators, who identified themselves as newly employed staff under the Cross River State Unified Local Government Service Commission, appealed to Governor Bassey Otu to urgently intervene in the matter.Carrying placards with various inscriptions, the protesters lamented that they had not received any salary since April 2025 despite reporting to work regularly. They also complained that they had yet to be enrolled into the state payroll even though they were duly employed by the government.Speaking during the protest, one of the workers, Paul Agbor, explained that the demonstration was aimed at drawing the attention of the state government to their plight.According to him, the affected employees had continued to perform their duties faithfully but remained unpaid for several months.“We are out here to appeal to the government to look into the situation of newly recruited local government workers. We are not on the payroll, yet we have been going to work consistently. That is why we are here to table our issue before the rightful authority,” he said.The protesters noted that the prolonged delay in salary payments had left many of them struggling to meet basic needs, including feeding their families and paying their children’s school fees.In a written appeal addressed to the governor, the workers expressed appreciation to the state government for offering them employment but said the continued non-payment of their salaries had plunged many of them into severe hardship.They stated that for more than nine months, they had continued to report to their duty posts despite not being placed on the payroll.Some of the workers added that they had abandoned small businesses or relocated from distant communities to take up the government appointments, only to face financial challenges due to the delay in salary payments.Responding to the protesters, the Secretary to the State Government, Anthony Owan-Enoh, assured them that the government was already working to resolve the issue.Owan-Enoh acknowledged the workers’ right to protest and revealed that the state government had held several meetings to address the matter.He explained that another meeting with Governor Otu would be held later in the week to finalise decisions on the employment and payroll issues affecting local government workers.According to him, the delay was partly due to the need to verify genuine employees and address administrative challenges within the Local Government Service Commission.He added that the government was determined to ensure that only legitimately recruited workers were captured on the payroll.Owan-Enoh, however, urged the affected workers to remain patient, assuring them that those properly employed by the government would soon be enrolled and their salaries addressed. Attached Images: e64829f045c5663fa5a66f847d27cf43e9a2c0b3cb4e6201321373f2e40d4ecf.jpg Attached Video: None