47 Applicants Pay N51.8m for Fake LG Jobs in Cross River

At least 47 job applicants have allegedly lost more than N51.8 million to fraudsters who promised them employment in the Cross River State Local Government Service.

The applicants were reportedly defrauded during the now-cancelled 2024/2025 local government recruitment exercise in the state.

Chairman of the Cross River State Local Government Service Commission, Barrister Eyo Nsa Ekpo, disclosed the development while speaking on a radio programme.

According to Ekpo, the victims were allegedly deceived, intimidated and pressured into paying between N100,000 and N1.5 million to secure local government appointments.

He explained that some applicants seeking senior positions paid as much as N1.3 million and N1.5 million, believing the payments would guarantee them government employment.

Global Mirror News gathered that the revelation followed investigations conducted by a panel constituted by the Cross River State Government after complaints and public concerns were raised over the recruitment exercise.

Ekpo said the panel established that 47 applicants had allegedly parted with more than N51.8 million in the process.

“The panel found out that as many as 47 victims were cajoled, frightened and intimidated to part with over N51.8 million for fake local government jobs,” he said.

The alleged fraudsters were also said to have issued fake employment letters to some of the applicants, creating the impression that they had successfully secured appointments into the local government service.

The commission chairman further alleged that some individuals involved in the recruitment irregularities manipulated the process to favour their relatives, including people who were not residents of Cross River State.

He said several victims eventually came forward to provide information and documents which were subsequently verified by the investigative panel.

“Many of these victims came to open up and submitted evidence which the panel verified. We had guaranteed all whistleblowers security and confidentiality if they came up with evidence,” Ekpo said.

The development has raised fresh concerns over the vulnerability of job seekers to fraudulent recruitment schemes, particularly at a time when many Nigerians are desperately seeking employment opportunities in the public sector.

Global Mirror News reports that the Cross River State Government has since cancelled the 2024/2025 local government recruitment exercise following the findings and recommendations of the investigative panel.

However, Ekpo disclosed that 821 persons from the previous exercise would be retained, while other qualified applicants would be given an opportunity to participate in a fresh recruitment exercise.

He said the new recruitment process is expected to commence within two weeks.

The commission chairman assured prospective applicants that the fresh exercise would be conducted transparently and in line with standard procedures.

He also stressed that the new recruitment would not be commercialised, apparently in a bid to prevent a repeat of the alleged extortion and fraudulent practices uncovered during the cancelled exercise.

Meanwhile, the state government is identifying persons allegedly connected with the recruitment fraud for questioning, possible prosecution and other appropriate sanctions.