National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has appealed for calm among candidates undergoing the aptitude test for its recruitment nationwide.

A statement on Monday in Abuja by its Principal Staff Officer, Public Affairs of Agency, Jonah Achema, said this followed the management’s assessment of compliance of prospective candidates towards the recruitment.

“The agency is aware of little hitches in the ongoing Computer-Based Test (CBT) with particular reference to Abuja Centre, and is determined to ensure that the integrity of the recruitment process is maintained in the selection of suitable 1,000 narcotic officers in the first phase of the recruitment,” the statement read.

“We are not unaware of the complaints by those excluded by computer from the ongoing exercise on grounds of age, improper documentation at the time of application and/or failing to upload relevant documents in support of their application.

“These are the pre-qualification requirements for the recruitment exercise. Some may have been excluded on account of their own carelessness, having left the email address and telephone number used for the application dormant or replaced, and consequently could not be reached.

“The management reinstated that this recruitment, which is the first phase of the recruitment for 15,000 personnel, is to recruit 5,000 personnel and is targeted majorly at the lower rank personnel (4,000 out of the 5,000) in order to address the current personnel gap in the agency.

“The agency is happy with the successful completion of the aptitude test in all the centres, except Abuja, where impatience and unruly behaviour of some applicants has led to the rescheduling of the aptitude test for applicants who were unable to write the test.

“The test for Abuja Centre has been rescheduled to hold from Friday, December 27, to Monday, December 31, 2019. The affected applicants are being contacted through emails and SMS.”