By Kamsi Anayo
The Police Service Commission (PSC), on Tuesday announced that a total of 136,177 candidates for the ongoing Police recruitment exercise have already been screened throughout the federation six days after the commencement of the exercise on January 8.
The Commission’s spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, confirmed that 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.
“The candidates are being subjected to physical and credentials screening, a prelude to an aptitude test and other processes including medical examination.
“The Commission has, with the ongoing recruitment exercise, upgraded and automated the processes to ensure its credibility and create a measurable standard for final selection of successful candidates.
“Results/outcome of the screening exercise are uploaded 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 fluctuating network.
“The PSC Chairman who is the National Co-ordinator 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 complementary daily reportage of figures”, Ani stated.
Arase congratulated the field work force and charged them to “maintain this momentum and strive for even greater achievements.”
He urged the candidates not to panic and be rest assured that they will all be screened before the end of the exercise, saying 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, Ani said, had noted that reports from the field showed a curious development where many candidates with beautiful Senior Secondary School Certicates (SSSC) and National Examination Council certificates can not 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 obviously 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 effective and efficient recruitment exercise in Nigeria.
“When we get it right at the entry point, we would have almost gotten sixty percent quality in the expected performance of the Officers and that is our objective” Arase noted.