By Archibong Jeremiah
Contract staff of the Cross River State Water Board Limited, Thursday morning, protested and barricaded the entrance to the premises of the company’s headquarters along Marian road, Calabar over backlog of unpaid salaries.
Some of the protesters’ who were preventing entrance to the water company for the second time since engagement, told this reporter that they have not been paid their salaries and entitlements for over a year, since their engagement in 2016.
They said they resorted to protesting because the last intervention by the State Government through the SUBEB Chairman, Dr. Stephen Odey, isn’t yielding fruits.
The leader of the peaceful protesters, Engr. Joseph Ogenya, stated that they were engaged since 2016 and the Government has not been forthcoming in the payment of their salaries.
His words, “We are contract staff of Cross River State Water Board Limited engaged since 2016. Since then they owned us salaries of 3 months in 2016 and 10 months in 2017 and this year (2018) we have not seen anything. So we need our money. We are hungry!”
Engr. Ogenyi added that “The last time we protested, we went to the State House of Assembly and later on, the Governor heard it and send someone in person of Dr. Stephen Odey to come for a rescue mission; the man came, had meeting with us and said he was going to get back to us between the 10th of February to the end of the month we are going to be paid but nothing has happened.”
Joseph regrettably revealed that “with all efforts to see and hear from Dr. Stephen Odey about what stage he is in solving of the problem has proved abortive.”
The protesters who barricaded the company’s gate ftom 8am were seen bearing placards with the following inscriptions: “Our children are out of school. No school fees”, “We have been ejected out of our houses”, “The month of February has ended, no payment as promised” among others.
As at the time of filing this report all effort made to contact the MD of the State Water Company, Dr. Godwin Igile proved abortive.
Below are pictures of the protest
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