The Akwa Ibom State Government has approved N50,000 each as transport allowance for all 33,461 applicants who participated in the recently concluded Computer-Based Test, for civil service recruitment. The gesture amounts to over N1.6bn in total.
Governor Umo Eno announced the support package on Thursday after receiving a briefing on the CBT exercise from the Commissioner for Science and Digital Economy, Dr. Frank Ekpenyong. The update was contained in a statement issued by the Government House on Friday.
Governor Eno said the allowance was meant to cushion the financial burden on applicants who travelled for the screening.
According to him, “People don’t come for interviews and walk away with nothing. Let them get the fifty thousand naira they spent on transport and lunch.”
The CBT, which kicked off on November 4 at the rehabilitated Civil Service Auditorium in Uyo, was conducted using over 400 newly installed computers, improved networking, and stable power supply to ensure transparency and fairness in the recruitment process.
While noting that the state cannot absorb every applicant into the civil service, Governor Eno announced that candidates who did not meet the cut-off mark would be enrolled in the Dakkada Skills Acquisition Programme.
He explained that the state’s ongoing projects require skilled manpower, making vocational training a viable pathway to employment.
For applicants who met the pass mark, Eno revealed that oral interviews for the 12,000 candidates who scored between 50% and 90% will hold between January and February 2026.
He also directed the immediate constitution of a committee to oversee the screening process.
The governor further stated that 4,000 successful candidates would receive employment letters by the first week of March, followed by compulsory training and induction.
He added that the names of the remaining successful applicants would be stored in a government database for future recruitment.
“We need four thousand now. Next time we need one thousand, we simply select from this database. So, there is hope,” he assured.
Presenting the CBT report, Commissioner Ekpenyong disclosed that 37,314 people applied for the recruitment, out of which 33,461 took the test. A total of 12,502 candidates scored 50% and above.
He added that Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) were given extended time to complete the test. However, only one PWD candidate scored up to 60%, while two outstanding candidates in the general pool scored 90%.
The state government says the recruitment and skills training initiatives are aimed at improving efficiency in the public service and strengthening the local workforce for ongoing and future development projects.
