Calabar – Governor Bassey Edet Otu of Cross River State has announced the immediate dissolution of the Board of the Local Government Service Commission following allegations of gross abuse of office and irregularities in the commission’s recent recruitment exercise.
In a statewide broadcast on Monday, the governor described the conduct of the dissolved board as “wrong, unfair and a betrayal of the trust reposed in us by the people.”
“The recruitment exercise which was earlier suspended remains suspended. We will restart the process afresh in a manner that is transparent, merit-based and devoid of any form of favouritism or cheating,” Governor Otu said.
He stressed that only qualified candidates will be considered when the exercise resumes, adding that his administration has zero tolerance for corruption in any guise.
“I want to reassure our people that I do not and will never condone corruption in any form. We will continue to take decisive actions to sanitize our institutions and restore public confidence,” the governor stated.
Governor Otu called for collective effort in building a state where integrity and due process prevail.
The dissolution comes barely weeks after the governor ordered the suspension of the controversial recruitment exercise over widespread complaints of extortion, slot sales and manipulation of the process.
No date has been fixed for the commencement of the fresh recruitment, but sources within government house say a new board will be constituted soon to oversee a credible exercise.
