Cross River to Compensate Victims of Recruitment Scam

The Cross River State Government has announced its intention to compensate individuals who were defrauded during the cancelled 2024/2025 local government recruitment exercise. The Chairman of the Cross River State Local Government Service Commission, Eyo Ekpo, revealed this on a radio programme, stating that the modalities for compensation are still being developed.

The government has approved the recruitment of 4,000 workers into the local government service after deeming the previous exercise fundamentally flawed due to alleged job racketeering and commercialization of employment slots. A panel of enquiry found that the recruitment lacked the governor's approval and violated public service ethics and financial regulations.

Consequently, the entire exercise was cancelled, retaining only 821 personnel whose recruitment was approved by the governor. Ekpo described the previous process as a “criminal enterprise” and assured that the new recruitment would utilize digital platforms to ensure transparency and fairness for qualified applicants.