. Olaopa says CBT has come to stay in civil service promotion exam
The Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission ( FCSC) , Prof.Tunji Olaopa, has declared that the computer-based test ( CBT) mode of examination has come to stay in the promotion of civil servants as 5,792 officers jostle for the directorate level.
Olaopa spoke on Monday during a media briefing with journalists at the end of the first day of the 2026 directorate level promotion examination in Abuja.
The examination took place simultaneously in different regions of the country including the Federal Capital Territory ( 2,169 candidates ), South West ( 1270), South East ( 497), South South ( 613),North West (461) North East (270), and North Central ( 460). The examination continues on Tuesday while the foreign phase of the exercise scheduled for October would involve 52 candidates.
Briefing the press after a tour of the examination centres in Abuja, Olaopa said that civil servants and all other stakeholders had come to terms with the reality associated with CBT as a mode of examination.
He said that the decentralisation of the examination in 2026 was a promise kept and that overall the process had been successful.
Noting that the candidates turned up on time and conducted themselves appropriately, he said that even though this was the second year of using the CBT system, the commission was very painstaking in taking it as a learning journey.
Olaopa disclosed that the major initial challenge had to do with internet networks that went down , thus the registration applications could not be activated. But he said that this was resolved by quickly leveraging the ID Code alternative.
He said that there were cases of physically challenged/visually impaired people with no prior notice but which were were resolved on the spot.
While acknowledging that there were still minor issues with computer literacy, Olaopa, however,, said that the CBT experience was designed to be basic and mechanical, thus easy to navigate.
He noted that two candidates who were. supposed to write the examination in Kaduna and Port Harcourt came to Abuja instead but that this was resolved.
He particularly appreciated the commissioners and members of staff who made the exercise successful.
He assured stakeholders that there was no political interference in determining successful candidates as the examination was driven by merit.
While disclosing that efforts were being made to resolve the issue of the number of qualified candidates being more than the number of available vacancies, he warned that a candidate who wrote the promotion examination thrice and still failed might be exited from the service.