By Edem Ekpo
Two suspected fraudsters have been arrested in Cross River State for allegedly issuing fake employment letters to desperate job seekers during the ongoing local government recruitment exercise.
The arrests followed petitions to the Cross River Local Government Service Commission that syndicates posing as agents of the commission were extorting applicants by promising them job placements. Investigations revealed that the racketeers collected between ₦300,000 and ₦600,000 per slot, with most of their victims coming from the central and northern parts of the state.
Acting on the reports, the commission’s Task Force apprehended two suspects identified as David Ofuka and Ushie Joseph Egba. Ofuka, earlier detained at Afokang, was granted bail by High Court 1 on Tuesday, while his case is expected to resume on September 8.
Egba is still in custody at the State Housing Police Station, Calabar, after he was caught with a forged appointment letter carrying the falsified signature of the commission’s Permanent Secretary.
Confirming the arrests, the Permanent Secretary and head of the Task Force, Mr. Samuel Egban, said the suspects were found with counterfeit letters purportedly issued by the commission. He stressed that the syndicate was determined to dent the image of the commission at a time when government is conducting one of the largest recruitment drives in the state’s history.
“The suspects have been handed over to the police for detailed investigation and prosecution,” Egban assured.
Also speaking, the Commission Chairman, Mr. Darlington Eyo, disclosed that so far, over 4,000 persons have been employed and taken off the streets.
Out of this number, about 3,000 have already been placed on the payroll, while the balance are undergoing documentation, image capturing and other processes as a prelude to being fully integrated into the system.
According to him, the initiative is expected to create a multiplier effect, stimulate economic growth, and provide a more sustainable alternative to the perennial culture of handouts often disguised as empowerment.
Eyo further explained that the commission inherited a depleted workforce of 9,000 and is working to fill the remaining vacancies. He described the mass recruitment, approved by Governor Bassey Otu under his “People First” policy, as the first of its kind in nearly four decades.