On Monday, the Joint Committee on Finance of the National Assembly threatened to halt the Nigerian government’s allocation of funds to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in the proposed budget for 2025.
The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, presented to the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives to defend the agency’s 2025 budget plan, and his presentation informed the committee’s stance.
Oloyede provided an overview of the JAMB’s 2024 budget performance, stating that the organisation received N6 billion in funding from the Nigerian government and sent N4 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Members of the committee, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo) and Abiodun Faleke, were not pleased with this and questioned why the Nigerian government should provide cash to a self-financing organisation.
“You received N6 billion from the Nigerian government after sending N4 billion.
“Why don’t we keep the N4 billion and prevent the government from funding JAMB?” Faleke, the chairman of the House Committee on Finance, questioned.
“Your meals and refreshments cost N1.1 billion. Is the government feeding you freely? This implies that the money you make from underprivileged students—many of whom are orphans—is being spent.
“Additionally, you spent N850 million in 2024 on cleaning, fumigation, and security. What was fumigated? Oshiomhole asked if mosquitoes were responsible for the loss of all the money.”
While urging Oloyede to defend the N6.5 billion spent on local training, the former governor of Edo State also criticised JAMB for spending N600 million on local travel.
More details to follow.
