The army stated on Wednesday that each geopolitical zone in the country was given equal representation with eight candidates selected from the comprising states.
The Nigerian Army has stated that there was no nepotism in its Short Service Commission recruitment in which the South-East states had the fewest with 42 candidates and the North-Central had 58 candidates.
The army stated on Wednesday that each geopolitical zone in the country was given equal representation with eight candidates selected from the comprising states.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig Gen Mohammed Yerima, noted that the South-East region with five states therefore had 40 candidates and two extra slots were added to them, while the North-Central with seven states had 56 candidates with two also added to them.
In a release, Yerima said, “Some publications alleged that the list of successful candidates for Short Service Commission 47 Selection Board which was published on March 26 was dominated by the North while the South-East had the fewest candidates. It is pertinent to state that the Nigerian Army strictly complies with the Federal Character policy.
“Accordingly, an equal number of eight candidates were selected from each state of the federation except in rare instances, where a state did not have the required number of eligible candidates to fill its 8 vacancies. In such instance, the vacancy will be filled by a contiguous state from the same geopolitical zone.
“Following this number allocated per state, the South-East which is made up of five states was entitled to 40 candidates. However, two extra vacancies were allocated to the geopolitical zone thereby making a total 42 candidates instead of 40. North Central for instance has seven states (FCT inclusive). Taking eight candidates from each state in geopolitical zone gives a total of 56 in addition to two extra vacancies as was also allocated to the South-East, gave the total of 58 candidates.
“It is therefore quite uncharitable and blatantly divisive for any organisation to whip up sentiments from such a straight forward exercise conducted by the Nigerian Army in the best interest of the nation.”