Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State has described as over bloated, the number of state civil servants presented to him upon assumption of office
The number, according to the governor was far from what he was told, even as he noted that he was misled to believe that over 40 percent of the government work force had retired.
Governor Out, who made the declaration when he received the organised labour in his office on Wednesday expressed shock by the increase in the nominal roll after being briefed that population of civil servants had drastically reduced.
In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Emmanuel Ogbeche, the governor had told the labour Union that he would invite the Department of State Security (DSS) for a proper audit of the work force of the state and local government.
“When I assumed office, I was informed that so many persons had retired, but when I now looked at the payroll, I saw even more staff than last month. I was wondering if so many have retired as recorded, why we should now have such a humongous number in the payroll with an attendant huge wage bill?” the governor asked.
He said the exercise which is to be conducted by the federal agency will help forestall all forms of irregularities noticed in the staff payroll system across board.