The House of Representatives has mandated its Committee on Basic Education and Services to conduct an investigation into the management of the financial affairs of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) from 2007 till date as it relates to its earnings from prospective candidates and remittances made to the federation account.
The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Mr. Segun Adekola (PDP, Ekiti) during plenary on Thursday.
In his debate, Mr. Adekola hinted that the total amount JAMB remitted to the Federation Account between 2010 and 2016 is ₦50,752,484, which is about 1% of the amount the Agency remitted to the Federal Government in 2017 alone
According to him, the remittance of such an amount by a non-focal revenue generating agency underscores the importance of transparency in the administration and management of government business.
The lawmaker underscored the urgent need to beam a search light on other government agencies to guide against flagrant misappropriation of public funds with a view to promoting probity in governance.
He said reports indicates that between 2011 and 2015, JAMB earned at least ₦30.726 billion from registration fees by candidates who sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) but remitted a meagre sum to the federal government, which, within the period, allocated over N2 billion yearly from the budget to the Board.
The lawmaker added that an information from the Accountant General of the Federation stated that JAMB remitted ₦11,522,808 in 2011, ₦25,303,274 in 2013 and ₦13,926,402 in 2014 but did not make any remittances in 2012, 2015 and 2016 respectively.
Recall that the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, while evaluating the performance of government agencies recently, announced that for the first time in its 40 years of existence, JAMB remitted the sum of ₦5 billion into the coffers of the government, with a balance of ₦3 billion still to be remitted, amounting to ₦8 billion within nine months of the tenure of the current Management of JAMB.
The motion was therefore adopted by the House without debate when the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara put up a voice vote.
The committee saddled with the responsibility is expected to report its findings within six (6) weeks for further legislative action.