May Day: C’River to pay next gratuity batch in weeks – Gov Otu

By Ike Uchechukwu, CALABAR

Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu, Friday during the 2026 International Workers’ Day celebration announced that payment of the next batch of gratuity arrears will commence in a couple of weeks.

Recall that the state had earlier released N10 billion which cleared gratuity from 2009 to 2015 out of the 14 years of backlogs inherited from 2009 to 2023 by the current administration.

Governor Otu, represented at the 2026 International Workers’ Day celebration by his Deputy, Hon. Peter Odey, disclosed that outstanding gratuity up to 2015 has already been cleared and the rest (2015 to 2023) would follow in a couple of weeks

“Let me use this opportunity to announce that the next set of payments will be done in a couple of weeks,” he said.

The governor used the occasion to highlight his administration’s workers’ welfare initiatives, reaffirming commitment to a “people-first mantra.”

“We believe that the workers who are the power engine and drive the machinery of government are not happy their success becomes difficult to achieve,” he stated,

He added that workers’ challenges receive “priority attention through policies as well as negotiations with labour unions.

Otu lauded the state workforce for sustaining industrial harmony, declaring May Day a day of “reflection, appreciation, and self-taking of the immeasurable contribution of our workers.”

He listed key achievement to include training 300 civil servants monthly in ICT; 200 certified in health, safety and environmental management (target 500); and 100 in public communication.

On infrastructure, he said: “My administration has connected all government offices to public power supply. Renovation of offices, provisions, and furnishers and supply of equipment are ongoing.”

Other initiatives include vehicles for NLC and TUC, 50 hectares of land per district for civil servants’ housing scheme (with groundbreaking for 1,000 units in Ikot Efio-OkonEdem), a staff club and event centre, revised public service manual, yearly increments, promotions for 2,000 recruits, maternity leave extended to 24 weeks, and free transport during festive periods.

Responding to union demands, Otu clarified no salary structure disparity exists between state and local governments, promised review of health workers’ retirement age, and noted a committee on local government staff regularization.

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