Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has approved the employment of all 25 physically challenged applicants who participated in the last recruitment exercise by the Edo State Civil Service Commission.
In a statement, Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, said the governor gave the approval after a review of the last civil service recruitment process showed that a number of persons with physical challenges were screened out either because they applied incorrectly or the system didn’t make provision for their special needs.
He said that the affected applicants include all persons with visible disabilities who appeared for interview irrespective of their level of performance, noting, “These persons were not initially invited for the Computer-Based Test (CBT) conducted by the Information Communication Technology Agency due to the fact that they did not apply correctly during the online application stage.
“These persons were, however, screened out by the Computer System which had no means of identifying them as persons with visible disabilities,” he said.
According to Osagie, the governor also approved the employment of two physically challenged persons to work at the Information Communication Technology Agency, who fell below the Commission’s established standards and one-visually impaired person into the civil service.
Osagie said the governor has mandated the State Civil Service Commission to develop a database of persons with physical disabilities who are employed by the state government.
He said the 25 persons with disabilities whose appointments have been approved will be evaluated by the Commission based on their academic qualifications and the approved scheme of service for placement into the civil service and provision made to take care of their special needs.
Obaseki added that plans are also in place to provide appropriate facilities that will enable the physically challenged persons to carry out their roles effectively.
