Cross River Civil Servants Threaten Picket Over Unpaid Salaries
A group of civil servants in Nigeria’s Cross River State has threatened to picket the office of the Accountant-General over the non-payment of their salaries, some of which are now months in arrears. The aggrieved workers claim they last received salaries in December 2023, a situation they describe as causing severe hardship.
Several employees, speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria in Calabar, said repeated complaints to the Accountant-General’s office have yielded no solution. One affected worker, Moses Effiong, stated that plans for a protest demonstration are finalized. “We have concluded plans to picket the accountant-general’s office as a way of protesting the non-payment of salary,” he said.
Mrs. Dorcas Obi, another state government employee, directly challenged the explanation offered by the Accountant-General, Dr. Glory Effiong, who has blamed the delay on the failure of permanent secretaries to submit updated nominal rolls—official lists of staff. Obi disputed this, saying, “The accountant-general keeps shifting blames… but this is not true. We have approached the permanent secretaries, and the message we get is that nominal rolls have been submitted.” She alleged selective payment, noting that within her ministry, some colleagues have been paid while others remain unpaid, suggesting “the state government is handpicking people.”
The human impact is acute, according to Clement Abang, another worker. “The situation has left many workers and their families in hunger and pains,” he said, urging the state government to clear the salary arrears promptly.
In response, Accountant-General Dr. Glory Effiong confirmed that some workers had yet to receive their January salaries. She maintained that the state processes salaries only upon receipt of verified nominal rolls from ministries. “We process salaries upon receipt of verified nominal rolls. This measure is necessary to address absenteeism, and to ensure that only workers who report to duty receive salaries,” Dr. Effiong stated. She added that 14,000 out of approximately 15,000 affected workers had been paid.
The standoff highlights a persistent administrative friction between state treasury officials and ministry-level departments over payroll verification. With a picket planned, the dispute moves from private complaints to public confrontation, intensifying pressure on the state government to resolve the salary crisis and clarify the payroll verification process for its workforce. The protesting workers have warned that their action will proceed unless the outstanding salaries are paid without further delay.
