Nigerian Journal Sustainability Research

NAQS Releases Recruitment Shortlist, Sets CBT for August 20 After Earlier Delay

2026-08-20
Status Checking Now Live

The Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS) has released the shortlist for its ongoing 2026 recruitment exercise and confirmed that applicants can now check their application status through the official recruitment portal. The announcement, contained in a notice signed by the agency's Director of Human Resources, ACG Issaka Ahmed, and posted on NAQS' official X handle, directs applicants to log in at recruitment.naqs.gov.ng using their registered details, or their Application Number and National Identification Number (NIN), to see how their application progressed.

CBT Set for Thursday, August 20

For applicants whose status shows progression to the next stage, the agency has set the Computer-Based Test (CBT) to begin online, through the same recruitment portal, from Thursday, August 20, 2026. NAQS has been clear that the exact individual schedule hasn't been published in the general notice; instead, applicants who have progressed will receive their specific testing details directly through the email address they used during registration. Because of this, candidates are strongly advised to monitor their registered email accounts closely rather than relying solely on the portal's status page.

The agency also urged applicants and the public more broadly to remain vigilant and to rely only on official NAQS communications and portal updates, a standard caution given how often recruitment scams tend to piggyback on genuine government exercises like this one.

Why the Timeline Shifted

This announcement follows an earlier postponement. The recruitment shortlist had originally been scheduled for release on August 13, with interviews initially pencilled in for August 15, but NAQS pushed both back, saying the delay was necessary to ensure the recruitment process remained thorough, transparent, and accurate.

The Scale of Interest in the Exercise

The recruitment drive itself opened on July 28 and closed on August 10, and it drew enormous interest nationwide. Over 606,000 people attempted to apply during that window, though not everyone who started an application managed to complete it, roughly 407,000 applications were ultimately submitted successfully. That volume likely explains at least part of why NAQS needed the additional time before releasing a shortlist it could stand behind.

What Applicants Should Do Now

For anyone who applied, the immediate next steps are straightforward: check your status on the official portal using your registered details, and if you've progressed to the next stage, keep a close eye on your registered email for the specific CBT schedule ahead of the August 20 start date. Given the scale of applicants and the earlier delay, sticking strictly to official NAQS channels for any further updates remains the safest approach.

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