No fewer than 200 applicants were on Tuesday screened for recruitment into the Nigeria Immigration Service by the Federal Capital Territory Command of the service.
The screening was to ensure physical and mental fitness, good oral communication skills and authenticity of certificates of the candidates.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the screening, slated for May 5 and May 7, held at the Old Parade Ground, Area 10, Abuja.
The exercise, which was the final phase in the recruitment process organised by the Presidential Committee on Immigration, was slated to hold in all state commands of the service across the country.
Applicants are to undergo the screening in their states of origin.
A correspondent of NAN who covered the exercise in the FCT reports that that medical kits and personnel were not on hand to verify applicants’ true state of health as advertised.
The committee had in its advertorial for recruitment indicated that persons with sight problems, hearing difficulties, orthopaedic operation and those pregnant would be disqualified.
An ambulance from the National Hospital, Abuja was however sighted at the venue of the screening to take care of emergencies.
Auta Ibrahim, the Comptroller of the FCT command, while reacting to the development, said it was mandatory for the service to follow the standard of accepting only medical certificates presented by applicants.
Ibrahim said: “What we can only do now is accept the documents they got from government hospitals verifying their state of health which is the standard for government employment.”
Ibrahim, however, said only applicants who were successful and offered provisional employment into the service would be further investigated by a special medical team.
He said the investigation would confirm their earlier claims and that if results indicated otherwise, such persons would be dismissed from the service.
Ibrahim said although 300 applicants were scheduled to undergo the screening, only about 204 were present as at 12 noon.
He said the heavy rain in the early hours of the day could have contributed in keeping some of them away coupled with inaccurate information on the timing.
Ibrahim promised that applicants who missed the screening on Tuesday would be accommodated in the subsequent days on May 6 and May 7.