The Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC) has warned its newly recruited officers against political bias, urging them to maintain neutrality and professionalism in the discharge of their duties.

The commission’s Chairman, Dr Ekong Boco, gave the charge yesterday in Calabar during a training workshop for newly recruited electoral officers, assistant electoral officers and store officers.

Boco reminded the officers that, as civil servants, they were expected to remain neutral and should not identify with any political party or group.

“You are a civil servant, not a politician. Never identify yourself with any political party or political group because your role is more or less that of a judge,” he said.

He urged the participants to familiarise themselves with civil service rules and take the training seriously, saying it would expose them to administrative procedures, election management and the expected conduct of electoral officials.

Boco said CROSIEC was established under Cross River State Law No. 2 of 2002, as amended by Law No. 8 of 2024.

He said the commission had faced manpower shortages arising from retirements and deaths, prompting it to seek additional personnel from the state government.

According to him, Governor Bassey Otu subsequently approved the deployment of 82 staff to the commission, with the new officers required to undergo training to improve their capacity and service delivery.

Boco listed the conduct of the 2024 local government council elections among the commission’s major activities since the current administration assumed office.

Declaring the workshop open, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Anthony Owan-Enoh, represented by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Budget and Finance, Mr Okpa Akpet, urged the officers to uphold integrity and make effective use of the training.

Similarly, the state Head of Service, Mr Orok Okon, represented by Mr Ignatius Edu, charged the officers to maintain neutrality and professionalism in dealing with political parties and candidates.

Okon warned them against political and personal bias, stressing that all candidates and parties must be treated fairly, irrespective of the officers’ personal preferences.