Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC/Edo North) has called on the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to justify its expenditure for 2024, raising concerns during the agency’s 2025 budget defence session before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Finance.
Oshiomhole questioned JAMB’s Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, over N850 million reportedly spent on security, cleaning, and fumigation.
He remarked, “What exactly did you fumigate? Did mosquitoes consume all this money?” He also criticized the agency for spending N1.1 billion on meals and refreshments, asking, “Are you being fed for free by the government? This money comes from poor students, many of whom are orphans.”
Additionally, Oshiomhole raised concerns about N600 million spent on local travel.
In response, Prof. Oloyede revealed that JAMB had remitted N4 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 2024 while receiving a N6 billion grant from the Federal Government.
This led Abiodun Faleke, Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, to question why a self-sustaining, revenue-generating agency requires federal funding. “You remitted N4 billion and received N6 billion. Why not keep the N4 billion and stop the government from funding JAMB?” he asked.
The lawmakers suggested the possibility of removing JAMB’s allocation from future budgets unless the agency provides a compelling justification for its reliance on government funding.
