A WEB portal allegedly from the National Population Commission (NPC) is circulating on social media with a claim that the Commission is receiving applications from eligible Nigerians for the NPC ad-hoc recruitment exercise.
The post, which was retrieved from WhatsApp groups, includes a web link purported to be the official recruitment portal launched by the Commission. The portal listed the requirements for the recruitment exercise.
The post read:
“NATIONAL POPULATION COMMISSION E-RECRUITMENT EMPOWEREMENT 2022/2023
The National Population Commission has Launched its recruitement Empowerements portal ahead of 2022/2023 and the about to start trial census.
How to apply for NPC Adhoc Recruitment:
Interested and Eligible NIGERIANS who are willling to apply for the recruitment are to visit the official site.REQUIREMENTs:
1. APPLICANTS MUST BE NIGERIAN BY BIRTH
2. VALIDATORY I.D CARD
3. APPLICANT MUST POCESS ATLEAST
OND
HND
BS.c
NCE
SSCENOTE: APPLICANTS MUST NOT BE MINOR i.e Under 18”
The National Population Commission (NPC) is the principal demographic government agency in Nigeria responsible for generating data about the country’s population.
READ: Lists of shortlisted candidates for NPC birth registration exercise in circulation is FALSE!
The Commission had revealed plans to conduct a fresh national population census in 2023.
The NPC Chairman, Nasir Isa-Kwarra, had earlier disclosed that there would be a trial census that would run from June 27 to July 30, 2022, with coverage of about 7,718 enumerated areas.
Similarly, Deji Ajayi, who is the NPC Commissioner representing Ekiti State had said that the Commission would recruit not less than one million personnel for the conduct of the 2023 national census.
Ajayi said the recruitment for the 2023 census will be done electronically because “census is a massive operation that will engage one million personnel and managing such a huge workforce manually will raise huge logistical and documentation challenges.”
“This is the first time we will be doing a paperless census, everything will be digital to check corruption and bring about accurate data that can help national development,” he added.
CLAIM
The National Population Commission (NPC) is receiving applications from Nigerians for the NPC ad-hoc recruitment exercise.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the viral post in circulation is FALSE.
A click on the link, archived here, redirects intending applicants to web pages requesting their details such as name, email address, phone number, and password to apply.
Further checks show that the web link is fake as it was found to be a phishing website and not the official recruitment portal of the NPC as claimed in the viral post.
A phishing website, according to TechTarget, is a domain similar in name and appearance to an official website; they’re made in order to fool someone into believing it is legitimate.
The NPC had, on May 30, 2022, announced the opening of an e-recruitment portal for the recruitment of ad-hoc staff for the Trial Census exercise nationwide.
In a press statement signed by the Commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Isiaka Yahaya, the recruitment of the 14,461 field functionaries has been concluded and the Trial Census has since commenced.
“The attention of the National Population Commission has been drawn to the circulation on social media platforms of a fake ‘NPC Recruitment 2022/2023’ portal, inviting Nigerians to apply for employment for the Trial Census and the 2023 Census.
“The Commission wishes to state that this information is totally false, misleading, and should therefore be treated as a scam by fraudsters to swindle unsuspecting members of the public, particularly job applicants.
“The Commission disassociates itself from the portal and reiterates the fact that its recruitment portal for the ongoing Trial Census is no longer active and was shut down the moment the Commission concluded its recruitment process for the exercise.
“Furthermore, National Population Commission is taking every measure to uncover those behind the fraudulent recruitment site. Similarly, scammers are warned to desist from this inglorious act as the Commission will not hesitate to bring the full weight of the law to bear on perpetrators in its quest to conduct the first fully digital Population and Housing Census in Nigeria next year that will be credible and acceptable,” the statement read.
Don’t fall victim to phishing scam
Over time, The FactCheckHub has debunked several of such claims hiding under the guise of recruitment, support fund, empowerment programme, a government activity or free internet data.
ALSO READ: Phishing scams continue to circulate over Nigerian govt’s ₦8,000 palliative
These claims usually follow a similar modus operandi by targeting areas that would be of interest to a lot of people.
They are often shared via the WhatsApp platform. Oftentimes, they impersonate a group, person, or organisation and they all have a web link they ask people to click.
You can also read The FactCheckHub’s article on how to Fact-check viral posts shared via WhatsApp.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the NPC is receiving applications from Nigerians for the ad-hoc recruitment exercise is FALSE; as findings show it is a phishing website.