The Cross River government has announced the cancellation of the 2024/2025 local government recruitment, describing it as fundamentally flawed and marred by alleged job racketeering and the commercialisation of employment slots, according to a statement issued by Anthony Owan-Enoh, secretary to the state government, on Thursday in Calabar.

According to the statement, the decision followed the submission and consideration of the report of a panel of enquiry set up to investigate the recruitment exercise conducted by the defunct Local Government Commission.

It said the panel found that the exercise lacked the governor’s executive approval and breached public service ethics, extant laws, and financial regulations.

It said the panel also established alleged institutional complicity, ineptitude, lack of transparency and accountability in the process.

According to the statement, the entire recruitment exercise has therefore been invalidated and cancelled, except for 83 CROSIEC personnel who were initially employed by the Cross River Civil Service Commission and subsequently redesignated to the Local Government Service Commission.

It said only 821 personnel whose recruitment the governor duly approved would be retained on the government payroll.

“All other persons who entered the payroll through unauthorised or illegal recruitment processes are hereby phased out,” it said.

To provide a fresh opportunity for qualified persons, the government said it had approved the recruitment of 4,000 personnel through a new and transparent process.

It said the exercise would deploy digital platforms and modern recruitment procedures to determine staffing needs objectively and ensure that employment was based on established requirements.

The government encouraged persons affected by the cancellation who possessed the requisite qualifications to reapply through the new recruitment process.

It also directed the attorney general and relevant law enforcement agencies to investigate the circumstances surrounding the recruitment exercise and prosecute persons found culpable.

The government said legitimate employees of the Local Government Service Commission who were lawfully recruited with due approval had continued to receive their salaries.

It, however, disclosed that persons removed from the payroll as a consequence of the nullification of the unauthorised recruitment would receive compensatory benefits.

It added that steps would be taken to unbundle and sanitise the entire payroll comprehensively.

The government expressed sympathy with citizens who might have fallen victim to what it described as a “criminal enterprise”, but said it could not assume responsibility for appointments that were neither authorised nor issued through lawful recruitment procedures.

“Government cannot assume responsibility for appointments that were never authorised, approved or issued through a lawful recruitment process. To do otherwise would amount to legitimising fraud, compromising due process and undermining the integrity of the public service,” it said.

The government urged members of the public, particularly those affected by the decision, to remain calm and take advantage of the new recruitment window.

It reiterated its commitment to building a professional, transparent, efficient, and people-centred public service.

(NAN)