Newly employed local government workers in Cross River State staged a peaceful protest in Calabar on Wednesday to demand 11 months of backlogged salaries.
Marching through major streets toward the Governor’s Office despite heavy rainfall, the demonstrators carried placards pleading for immediate enrollment on the official state payroll.
Protest leader Uchi Julius stated on behalf of the crowd that workers hired in 2025 have faithfully performed their duties for nearly a year without receiving compensation.
“The prolonged delay has really subjected many workers to severe hardship. Some of us are now struggling to feed our families. Some of us have died during the verification process initiated by the government,” he explained.
Julius highlighted that most affected employees have been forced to rely on personal loans from friends and relatives just to survive.
He noted that although the government pledged massive job creation, thousands of newly hired personnel remain unpaid for their labor.
“We didn’t come here to beg for money; we came to ask for what we have worked for. We are hungry. We are dying. We have lost more than six colleagues. They can never return,” Julius lamented.
Echoing these concerns, protester Happiness Augustine shared her personal experience of working without financial compensation since her employment last year.
“I was employed in 2025. Up till now, I have not been paid. It is one year in my office and I have not received any salary. We are begging Governor Bassey Otu to have mercy on us and pay us because we have been diligent in our duties,” she urged.
