C’River LG Recruitment: An Appeal Not to Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater [By Inyali Peter Ph.D.]

A few weeks ago, the Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission, Mr Darlington Bassey Eyo, resigned after findings of gross misconduct and widespread employment racketeering came to light. Governor Bassey Otu swiftly accepted the resignation, suspended the entire recruitment exercise, and dissolved the commission’s board.

Since assuming office, Governor Otu has established a reputation as a no-nonsense leader with zero tolerance for corruption and incompetence. He has consistently relieved or reassigned aides and appointees found wanting, keeping everyone on their toes to either deliver excellently or step aside. The decisive action against the Local Government Service Commission is a classic example of this principled governance, and it deserves full commendation for restoring discipline in public service.

However, while the government is right to sanitise the process, the fate of the recruitment exercise must be handled with caution so that innocent job seekers are not punished alongside the guilty. Some applicants secured their slots purely on merit; others, driven by desperation in a country where unemployment has become a nightmare, felt compelled to pay bribes simply to put food on the table. The Governor’s ultimate goal is to guarantee equal opportunity for every Cross Riverian, but we must acknowledge the harsh reality that many felt that parting with money was the only path to survival.

Bribery is clearly criminalised under Nigerian law. Section 8 of the Independent and Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) Act punishes anyone, public officer or private citizen who corruptly solicits or receives a benefit in relation to official duties, while Section 9 criminalises the act of corruptly offering or giving such benefits. In Southern Nigeria, Sections 98 and 98A of the Criminal Code address the same offences; in the North, Sections 115 and 116 of the Penal Code do likewise. Ignorance of the law is no defence, but we must ask honestly, did most of these job seekers truly have another choice? In a system where “no connection, no job” has almost become a national proverb, many graduates who have languished for years at home saw inducement as the only door open to them.

I was moved by a story I recently read of a 92-year-old woman arraigned in a Western country for stealing medicine. She explained that her husband of 60 years, nearing 100, was terminally ill. They had exhausted their savings on his drugs, only for the price to triple overnight. With no money left, she stole the medication rather than watch the love of her life die. The judge acquitted her and ordered lifelong free medical care and stipends for the couple. Similarly, the late Judge Frank Caprio of Rhode Island was known for tempering justice with mercy. In one case, a 90-year-old man charged with speeding explained he was rushing his terminally ill 62-year-old son to hospital. Despite the clear traffic offence, the judge discharged him. Compassion considered context.

Many victims of this racketeering borrowed money or took loans believing salaries would soon follow. Some have already relocated to remote villages, rented accommodation on credit, and furnished homes, all in anticipation of pay that may never come. The suspension of the exercise has left their hopes hanging by a thread.

My passionate appeal to the People’s Governor is therefore is that, if the recruitment is to be cancelled outrightly, government should facilitate full refund of monies paid by applicants who can provide evidence of payment, sparing them the double tragedy of losing both money (often borrowed) and the job.

Alternatively, a fresh, transparent recruitment exercise should be conducted in which those already issued appointment letters from the suspended process are granted right of first refusal. This will preserve slots for the genuinely qualified among them before the exercise is opened to the general public should they not exhaust the available slots.

Unarguably, the Governor’s decision is generally to protect the integrity of public service. But that protection must not come at the cost of pushing desperate Cross Riverians deeper into debt, depression, or despair; consequences of the very systemic failures he’s fighting. The real culprits are those who enriched themselves through corruption; the ultimate losers must not be the poor citizens who saw bribery as the only way to earn a living and feed their families.

This is a heartfelt appeal for justice tempered with mercy so that in cleansing the system, we do not crush the very people the system was meant to serve and protect. With every sense of humility and responsibility, I appeal to the People’s first Governor not to throw the baby away with the bathwater.

-Inyali Peter, Ph.D.