The Ebonyi Police Command says no fewer than 330 applicants were successfully captured in the just-concluded first round of the screening/recruitment into the constable cadre of the force.
The spokesperson for the command, DSP Loveth Odah, on Thursday in Abakaliki that out of 1, 679 shortlisted, only 779 turned out for the screening while 330 made it into the second round of the exercise.
Odah, who described the situation as abysmal, said that in a local government where 60 applicants were shortlisted, only 30 came out for the screening.
According to her, the exercise which began on July 1 came to an end on July 20.
She added that a mop-up had started and would last from July 21 to July 28 while the examination would hold from Aug. 4 to Aug 8.
Odah said: “The just-concluded first round of the police constable recruitment in the state recorded low turnout of applicants shortlisted for the exercise.
“Out of 1, 679 applicants shortlisted, 779 reported for screening, and out of the 779 so far screened, about 330 applicants have been successfully captured and their names sent to Abuja. “Some candidates were disqualified for one reason or the other including flat foot, overage, low height and small chest for men.
“Applicants did not turn out as we anticipated, and this is not good for the state because the state is already on the verge of losing its quota.
“We appeal to the shortlisted candidates to avail themselves of the window provided by the mop-up exercise to stop the state from losing the quota allocated to it. “The screening is not the last exercise; you still have an examination to write.”