The Police Service Commission (PSC) said on Tuesday that a total of 136,177 candidates for the ongoing police recruitment exercise have already been screened just six days after the commencement of the exercise on Monday, January 8, 2024, throughout the federation.
The Commission, through the Police Recruitment Board, is currently screening 416,270 Nigerian youths who have shown interest and applied to be considered for a career in the Nigeria Police Force.
A statement by the PSC said the candidates are being subjected to physical and credentials screening, a prelude to an aptitude test, and other processes, including a medical examination.
It said, “The Commission has, with the ongoing recruitment exercise, upgraded and automated the processes to ensure its credibility and create a measurable standard for the final selection of successful candidates.
“Results/outcome of the screening exercise are uploaded in real-time to the Commission’s portal and monitored by the Situation Room set up and led by Commission Chairman Dr Solomon Arase, retired Inspector General of Police.
“Out of the 136,177 candidates screened, 108,768 have been successfully uploaded, the difference being problems/challenges from the fluctuating network.
“The PSC Chairman, who is the national coordinator for the recruitment exercise, has expressed his satisfaction with the commitment of both the commission staff, the police officials, and other members of the police recruitment board.
“He confirmed that there has been a commendable improvement in both screening and uploading rates and a complimentary daily reportage of figures.”
Dr Arase congratulated the field workforce and charged them, “Let’s maintain this momentum and strive for even greater achievements.”
“He assured the candidates that they should not panic and be rest assured that they will all be screened before the end of the screening exercise, adding that he is aware of the heavy traffic at the screening centres.
“Arase said the Commission is giving the nation a new and credible platform for recruitment into the public service, insisting that the ongoing police recruitment will surely meet all known international standards devoid of any manipulation.
“He repeated that the nation will be proud of the products of this exercise. He, however, said the Commission may review the sequence of the exercise where the aptitude tests may come first.
“Arase noted that reports from the field showed a curious development where many candidates with beautiful Senior Secondary School Certificates (SSSC) and National Examination Council certificates cannot write their names or ordinarily introduce themselves.
“He wondered how they acquired such excellent certificates, adding that aptitude tests coming as a first stage of the recruitment process will help eliminate unqualified candidates and reduce the size of persons that would subsequently appear for screening.
“He disclosed that the Commission will surely get it right and produce a template for an effective and efficient recruitment exercise in Nigeria.
“When we get it right at the entry point, we would have almost gotten sixty per cent quality in the expected performance of the officers, and that is our objective,” Arase noted.
