The ongoing Computer-Based Test process currently being used to recruit 4,000 qualified personnel into the State Civil Service has been described as fair, seamless, and devoid of any form of examination malpractice.
This was stated by the Honourable Commissioner for ICT and Digital Economy, Engr Frank Ekpenyong, as the compulsory test entered Day 13 at the Civil Service Auditorium, Idongesit Nkanga Secretariat. The Commissioner assured that Governor Pastor Umo Eno’s vision of deploying technology to ensure transparency and merit-based recruitment into the State Civil Service will be carried out with full commitment and precision.
Engr Ekpenyong, who spoke through the Supervisor 1 at the CBT Centre, Rachel Mba, said the State Government is adequately equipped to detect and prevent any form of examination malpractice while ensuring that impersonators are apprehended as the CBT process continues smoothly into its second week.
“The experience we’ve had so far has been seamless although we’ve had a few cases of attempted impersonation where people try to come in and write the examination for others, but what they don’t know is that we have our ways of figuring that out,” Mba said.
“When someone comes in and sits on a computer, we immediately proceed to match their faces and pictures because we did a liveness check when they registered. So we match their faces because we have cameras on all the computers. We do this as they try to sign in and effortlessly fish out any impersonator and rightly send them to the appropriate quarters as we have the Nigeria Police and the DSS stationed here,” she added.
Mba further explained that beyond impersonation, some candidates had also attempted to cheat during the test. “We’ve also had cases of people attempting to bring out their phones to cheat; we’ve also had candidates trying to go away from our website and open other websites in an attempt to cheat. What they don’t know is that we have our ways of finding out these things and when we nab such candidates, we make sure that examination is cancelled, their devices confiscated, and we hand the candidates over to the Police,” she said.
It can be recalled that Governor Pastor Umo Eno has consistently reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to digitizing the State’s public service. He has emphasized that the use of technology in recruitment is aimed at promoting merit, transparency, and efficiency while completely eradicating the influence of godfatherism in employment processes.
“The Civil Service is the engine room of governance. The quality of people we bring into the service in this 21st century matters. The world has even moved to AI now, so we need people who at least understand basic computing to the extent that they can take an exam,” Governor Eno said during a recent visit to the CBT Centre at the Idongesit Nkanga Secretariat, Uyo.
“This system will also eliminate godfatherism. People should have confidence that they got into the service by merit—by passing the required exams. We’re in the 21st century, and that’s the way it should be,” he added.
Some candidates who spoke after writing the test commended Governor Eno for fulfilling his promise, expressing satisfaction that the recruitment process was transparent and fair. They also noted that the era of using connections or godfathers to secure civil service jobs is finally over.
Governor Eno’s initiative in digitalizing the recruitment process further demonstrates his administration’s commitment to interpreting the ARISE Agenda by modernizing public service through innovation, inclusivity, and technology-driven governance.
