By Patrick Obia
The demonstration by hundreds of civil and public servants who were delisted from the payroll of the Cross River State Government in mid 2019 by Governor Ben Ayade will continue Tuesday.
Some of the affected staff who spoke to CrossRiverWatch say they have no other choice since the State has not heeded to their pleas.
On Monday, hundreds of those affected carried placards and gathered at the new State Secretariat along Murtala Mohammed Highway, Calabar. They locked the gates preventing dozens from accessing their offices.
One of those affected (name withheld for editorial reasons and to prevent punitive attacks) said they have suffered untold hardship.
“The people you are seeing here are over two thousand five hundred Civil servants who were erroneously removed from the payroll in August 2019, reasons they were trying to filter the system of ghost workers, do you know this is 13 months now they have not been able to filter the system of any ghost workers,” the protester said.
The protester continued: “They told us we were not sacked so why are they not paying us. Look at us are ghost workers? Do we have a ghost amongst us? are we being able to feed our children for thirteen months, have we being to pay our rent? pay our bills; economic situation in Nigeria is very hot , Garri is a cup for fifty Naria. we can not take care of our children; what have we done?
“As long as they refuse to pay us we are carrying on this protest until they pay us.
Lady faints during protest against delisting of about 3,000 workers in Cross River State.
She was a staff of the health ministry @CRSMOH pic.twitter.com/ceXo412ZOH
— CrossRiverWatch (@crossriverwatch) September 21, 2020
“They should kill us we are ready to die here life is nothing. What can we get, they have not paid us for thirteen months now; what is the worst thing we can see now; we were duely employed and every process was duely followed.”
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