The Osun State Police Command has urged prospective constables who missed their 2026 recruitment screening to report for exercise before April 18. The directive was issued by the command's spokesperson, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, in a statement released on Friday in Osogbo. He said candidates who either missed their scheduled dates or received "qualified" messages but failed to print their slips should proceed to the police command headquarters at Ring Road, Osogbo. The screening will take place daily from 7:00 a.m. Candidates are required to appear in person with all relevant documents. The exercise, originally scheduled to end earlier, has been extended to accommodate those who were unable to meet previous deadlines. The police command emphasized that this window would be the final opportunity for affected candidates to participate in the recruitment process.
DSP Abiodun Ojelabi's last-minute appeal exposes a recruitment process running on patchy communication and compressed timelines. That the police command had to issue a public reminder for an exercise as critical as screening suggests planning gaps — especially when the deadline is just days away. The fact that candidates received "qualified" messages but couldn't print slips points to technical hiccups that could easily disqualify otherwise eligible applicants.
This is not just a logistical issue but a reflection of how public service recruitment often operates in reactive mode. Delays, unclear instructions, and short extension periods disproportionately affect young applicants from rural areas or limited internet access. In Osun, where youth unemployment remains high, missing a police recruitment window can mean lost livelihoods. The reliance on printed slips and physical presence by 7:00 a.m. adds layers of difficulty for those without transport or digital tools.
For thousands of young Nigerians banking on federal recruitment to escape underemployment, such administrative bottlenecks turn golden opportunities into stress-filled gambles. This incident mirrors past recruitment exercises across security agencies, where last-minute directives became the norm rather than the exception. When entry into public service hinges on timing and access to information, the process risks favoring the connected over the qualified.
