Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State said that 15,000 youths in the state have applied for 3,000 civil service jobs in the state.
Mr Eno, who disclosed this on Saturday at a monthly prayer service in Government House, Uyo, said the state would use computer-based screening for the recruitment.
“I am told that about 15,000 Akwa Ibom youths applied for the civil service job. Three thousand is what we want to engage,” Mr Eno said, according to a statement posted on Facebook by his spokesperson, Ekerete Udoh.
“The truth is, it will be a computer-based test. As you finish, the result is coming out for you to see whether you passed it or not. So, don’t bother sending me texts for slots. It is not just possible. For once, we will do this one like that. If you don’t understand computer, you don’t have to bother.
“Let’s give the right people the opportunity to go and do this job. We will take time, engage them to sit on the computer, there will be a test, and as they finish and submit, they will receive an instant result.
“This is so that we can weed out 12,000, consider 5,000, and begin the oral interview. Please don’t be angry with us; that is the approach we would adopt for this process,” the governor said.
Background
Last year, Governor Eno approved N80,000 as the new minimum wage for civil servants in the state, with a caveat that verification of staff members must be completed before payment would begin.
After the staff audit, the Nigeria Labour Congress in the state said that over 2,000 ghost workers were uncovered among the 55,000 state government employees.
To fill the vacancies, Mr Eno announced that 3000 workers would be recruited into the state civil service.
Mr Eno had said that 1,000 slots were meant for health workers and 1,000 for teachers, while the remaining 1000 would be spread across other ministries.
A government statement, last month, directed applicants to apply through a state government’s portal.
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At the close of the application, Mr Eno announced that 15,000 applicants are jostling for the 3,000 jobs, a figure that translates to a highly competitive ratio of 5:1, indicating that five applicants are vying for each available job slot.
The unemployment rate in Akwa Ibom remains high, with the state government being the highest employer of labour in the oil-rich state.
To address this, the state government has been training the youth to learn new skills and has been giving out grants to support young entrepreneurs.