FCTA Disowns ‘Absconded’ Workers, Vows CBT Promotion Exams Permanent

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has disowned civil servants who have abandoned their posts, declaring them removed from its staff records.

FCTA also expressed firm commitment to the continuation of its Computer-Based Test (CBT) for its staff promotions.

The pronouncement was made on Tuesday during a new round of CBT promotion exams for over 8,000 workers across various cadres.

Chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission, Engr Emeka Eze, drew a clear distinction between so-called “ghost workers” and those who have voluntarily left the service.

“Some people are not really ghosts but they have absconded from duty. If you absconded from duty, it means that you are no longer working,” he said.

He emphasised that the ongoing five-day CBT, conducted in batches, was crucial for building a modern and efficient workforce.

According to him, the administration has made significant investments in ICT training and now expects a corresponding level of performance and service delivery.

Eze, while acknowledging technical issues in the exercise, appealed to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike to establish a dedicated CBT centre for the territory to better manage the process, assuring that the recorded glitches would be resolved.

The Acting Head of Service for FCTA, Dr Nancy Sabanti-Nathan, echoing the permanence of the new testing procedure, declared there would be no going back to the old system.

Sabanti-Nathan acknowledged the challenges faced by participants but descibed them as opportunities for improvement.

“Challenges are always there with us but we always find a way around it. The beauty of these things is that the computers are programmed, you can still open your system and finish. It is the system that will tell you that time is up.

“Some of these challenges are the ones that are giving us strength to go back again and look at what we are doing. But the issue of going back, no going back to the old regime,” she said.