No fewer than 47 applicants have allegedly lost more than N51.8 million to fraudsters in connection with the cancelled 2024/2025 local government recruitment exercise in Cross River State.
The Chairman of the Cross River State Local Government Service Commission, Barrister Eyo Nsa Ekpo, disclosed this during a radio programme, saying the victims were allegedly deceived and intimidated into paying between N100,000 and N1.5 million in exchange for employment.
According to him, some applicants seeking senior positions reportedly paid as much as N1.3 million and N1.5 million to secure appointments.
Ekpo said the discovery followed investigations by a panel set up by the state government after complaints and public concerns over the recruitment exercise.
He disclosed that some of the alleged perpetrators issued fake employment letters to the applicants, making them believe they had secured government jobs.
The commission chairman also alleged that the recruitment process was manipulated to favour some individuals, including family members and people who were not residents of Cross River State.
He said the government was working to identify those allegedly involved in the fraud for questioning, prosecution and other appropriate sanctions.
The state government had earlier cancelled the 2024/2025 recruitment exercise following the panel’s findings.
However, Ekpo said 821 applicants from the previous exercise would be retained, while other qualified candidates would be allowed to participate in a fresh recruitment exercise expected to begin within two weeks.
He assured applicants that the new recruitment process would follow due procedures and would not be commercialised.
