IBY
Peterside Rejoice Eneky
Adams Oshiomhole, the lawmaker representing Edo North, raised serious concerns over the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) spending during a 2025 budget defense session before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Finance on Monday.
Oshiomhole took issue with the N1.1 billion allocated for meals and refreshments in JAMB’s 2024 budget. He questioned the rationale behind such a large expenditure, asking JAMB registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, if the government was “freely feeding” the agency.
He noted that this spending was being funded by the money JAMB generates from students, many of whom are financially disadvantaged or orphans.
The lawmaker also raised concerns about the N850 million spent on security, cleaning, and fumigation.
“What did you fumigate? Is it mosquitoes that took all this money?” Oshiomhole asked, seeking clarification on how such a large sum was allocated for these services.
Additionally, Oshiomhole criticized JAMB for spending N600 million on local travel.
In response, Prof. Oloyede explained that JAMB remitted N4 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 2024 while receiving a N6 billion grant from the Federal Government.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Abiodun Faleke, also questioned why JAMB, a revenue-generating agency, was still reliant on federal funding.
He suggested that JAMB could keep its N4 billion remittance instead of receiving further allocations, posing the question: “Why not keep the N4 billion and we stop the government from funding JAMB?”
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