THE Police Service Commission (PSC) has denied cancelling the recently concluded 2022 recruitment into the constable cadre of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The PSC said the recent hitch arose from a routine maintenance of its portal containing the list of successful candidates for the exercise.
The commission also disassociated itself from a statement circulating in social media alleging that it has surrendered to pressure and cancelled the final list of successful candidates.
This was disclosed in a statement on Tuesday, June 25, signed by the commission’s spokesperson, Ikechukwu Ani.
Ani said the PSC was in control of the situation and had since restored the recruitment portal with its original contents.
He urged successful candidates to ignore what he termed deliberate antics of desperate groups bent on destroying the good work of the commission.
The commission noted that it would continue to ensure that federal character, gender sensitivity and merit are the bedrock of its recruitment process.
“The commission calls on this disgruntled element to desist further from undermining the recruitment exercise as anyone caught will be dealt with.
“The commission restates that the portal is now fully functional and accessible. Candidates can now log in and access all its features without any disruptions. The commission regrets the hitches and assures that it has fully secured the platform.” the statement added.
The PSC and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have been in at daggers drawn following the NPF’s accusations that the commission’s recruitment process was marred by irregularities.
The ICIR reported on Friday, June 21, that the PSC challenged the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to provide evidence of allegations that the recruitment exercise was marred by corruption.
This was contained in a press release signed by Ani, on Friday.
Ani also noted that due process was followed during the exercise and demanded that a forensic audit be carried out on the list of successful candidates published by both organisations.
The PSC had released a list of successful candidates recruited into the NPF but the NPF rejected it, arguing that the PSC portal was scrutinised and several names released did not apply for the job and, therefore could not have emerged on the list.
The NPF dissociated itself from the list of candidates and called for a review.
However, the PSC’s Joint Union Congress (JUC) dismissed the allegations at a press briefing on Wednesday, June 19.
The Congress also alleged that elements within the Police Force attempted to smuggle over 1,000 names into the recruitment list.
A reporter with the ICIR
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