Approximately 50 civil servants under the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) are demanding immediate payment of their April salaries after being wrongly delisted and labeled as "ghost workers" during a recent payroll sanitization exercise.

The affected workers, including staff from the medical department and other critical units, were among 230 employees whose names were erroneously omitted from the April payroll during an initiative aimed at cleaning up the civil service system.

Following the discovery of this error, the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) and other affiliated unions launched a warning strike in protest. This action prompted the FCTA to reinstate many of the affected personnel and release their salaries. However, about 50 civil servants remain unpaid due to what officials described as "technical hitches" in the payroll system.

Chief Emeka Ezeh, Chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission, had last week acknowledged the mistake and offered an apology to the affected staff. "We were trying to clean up the payroll and in the process, some genuine staff were mistakenly affected," Ezeh admitted. "I sincerely apologise for the inconvenience. The affected salaries will be released between now and Friday."

Despite this assurance, the civil servants reported that as of Wednesday, May 14, they had yet to receive any payment or further updates regarding their situation. The workers are now calling on the Commission to expedite the resolution process, warning that continued silence could escalate tensions among staff who are already experiencing financial strain.

As of press time, the FCT Civil Service Commission had not issued any fresh response regarding the pending payments, leaving the affected workers in continued uncertainty about when they might receive their overdue salaries.