No fewer than 10,700 workers of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) are set to sit for the 2026 promotion examination from October 5.
The examination, which covers 145 cadres, will be conducted through Computer-Based Testing (CBT), the FCT Civil Service Commission has announced.
Chairman of the Commission, Emeka Ezeh, disclosed this in Abuja, saying the exercise followed the approval and reconsideration of FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Ezeh said only workers who meet the eligibility requirements would participate, adding that promotions would be based strictly on merit and available vacancies in line with public service rules, agency organograms and approved structures.
“Promotion will be based purely on merit to the vacancies declared in line with the organogram and structure of these agencies,” he said.
According to him, the exercise is also part of efforts to eliminate the backlog of outstanding promotions inherited by the administration.
He said the Commission was working towards ensuring that by 2027, FCT workers would no longer have to contend with inherited promotion backlogs.
“The directive of the Minister is that we must clear all the backlogs so that civil servants will get their promotion as a window. And that is what we are doing,” Ezeh said.
The chairman disclosed that workers who successfully participated in the 2025 promotion exercise held in July had already received their promotion letters.
He urged candidates for the 2026 exercise to prepare adequately and comply with all examination guidelines, warning that mobile phones would not be allowed inside the examination halls.
Candidates, he said, must come with their promotion regulation letters and letters of confirmation, alongside other required documents.
Ezeh said each candidate would have 45 minutes to complete the CBT examination.
He explained that candidates’ names and login details would be uploaded on the Commission’s website, with the login credentials serving as their access codes for the examination.
“Once you click in, your name will appear automatically. You confirm your name, cadre and level, then start the examination. Your time starts counting immediately,” he explained.
The system, he added, would automatically shut down when the 45-minute period elapsed, after which candidates would be able to view their results immediately and save copies for their records.
Ezeh said the increasing acceptance of competitive examinations among FCT workers was encouraging, describing merit-based promotion as important to building a more efficient public service.
