Applicants kick against process of enlistment into Rivers police command

Embittered applicants for positions as constables in the Rivers State Police Command yesterday cried out against the omission of their names from the original list in spite of the fact that they had successfully scaled through the written and aptitude tests.

The affected applicants who expressed bitterness over the development said that their names had been written down by the invigilators and assured of the final verbal interview at the Rivers State Police Command, along Moscow Road, Port Harcourt, adding that they were surprised to see strange names pasted on the notice boards at the command omitting theirs.

Some of the applicants who pleaded anonymity said that they saw their names on the list of successful candidates but that “the names of successful applicants were replaced with names of those who did not participate in the recruitment exercise. We were told to report for training on December 31, 2016, after our success in the recruitment exercise. Some of us fraternized during the recruitment exercise, so, we had been networking among ourselves.

“So, we were shocked when we realized our names have been removed. We noticed that training has commenced, so, we went to Abuja to verify, only to find out that our names have been removed and replaced with the names of those who did not go through the recruitment exercise with us in Port Harcourt,” they lamented, saying that they had been looking forward to resuming training on December 31, 2016.

A female applicant said she saw her name on the list of successful candidates but became curious when she did not receive any correspondence at the end of January, saying, “We saw our name on the list. We were informed last week that we have been short-changed. It is sad that those now under-going training were not part of the recruitment exercise. I want the Inspector-General of Police and the Police Service Commission to come to our aid. I am really sad.”

However, the spokesman of the Rivers State Police Command, DSP Nnamdi Omoni, explained that the Rivers State Police Command was not part of the recruitment exercise.

He explained that the recruitment was initiated and managed by the Police Service Commission following the instruction of President Muhammadu Buhari on the exercise.