By PHILIP YATAI

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Civil Service Commission, on Tuesday, began a computer-based promotion examination for 915 Assistant and Deputy Directors.

Chairman of the Commission, Mr Emeka Eze, said at the event in Abuja, that the directors were drawn from the Universal Basic Education Board, Secondary Education Board, Education Secretariat and other departments and agencies.

Eze said that the examination would be conducted in phases.

He added that the computer-based examination was introduced to ensure that those who would be promoted to substantive director level were qualified to face the current technology-driven challenges associated with their jobs.

“As part of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration, we needed to introduce technology to avoid the possibility of interference and pressures.

“So, we will be the first commission to introduce computer-based promotion examinations in Nigeria.

“The idea is that as we are finishing the result today, by next week the result is out. So there’s no possibility of anybody putting pressure on anybody for it.

“This is a part of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration,” he said.

He said that the FCT Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike created the commission with the approval of President Bola Tinubu and promised to resolve the backlog of promotions that has been pending for many years.

He said that the verification exercise to determine the workforce strength of the FCT had begun but yet to be completed.

According to him, the backlog will be cleared as soon as the verification is concluded.

“When Wike came on board in August 2023, he cleared some outstanding promotions dating back to 2019 up to the level of deputy directors.”

The chairmanship also disclosed that during the exercise, the commission uncovered too many age falsification in the service records, adding however that those involved had been retired.

Also speaking, Mr Martins Azubuike, representative of South-East in the commission, said that participants who fail to scale through the examination would not be promoted.

Azubuike said that the computer-based tests had come to stay in the system to encourage workers to update their digital skills. (NAN)