By Mikail Mumuni
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, (JAMB) has said some individuals are not happy about the huge amounts the agency has been remitting to government since Professor Is-haq Oloyede took over in 2016 as Registrar.
- Prof Oloyede*
JAMB stated this in Abuja at Special Town Hall Meeting.
Before the advent of Oloyede, JAMB remitted a paltry N52million to government in about 40 years, accordingly to available records
Prof. Oloyede has however changed the narrative, as JAMB remitted N 7.8 billion to the Federal Government in 2017 alone.
The huge remittances have continued, and the agency which hitherto received subventions from government, has now become a major contributor to the national treasury.
The Board has also taken over the funding of it’s capital and over head costs. And to further demonstrate it’s openness and transparency, the Oloyede’s administration on a weekly basis, in JAMBulletin ( a weekly publication of the Office of the Registrar) , publish details of JAMB’s income and expenditure.
These achievements and more, including deployment of ICT to improve on the credibility of examinations conducted by it, prompted National Assembly members to shower encomiums on Oloyede and his team during the recent JAMB’s defence of it’s 2020 budget, describing his style of leadership as worthy of emulation by other public officers.
JAMB spokesman, Dr Fabian Benjamin however said some individuals would rather prefer the billions being remitted to government go into private pockets.
- Dr Fabian Benjami*
He spoke in Abuja recently at a Special Town Meeting on the Fight Against Corruption, which had heads of anti-corruption agencies, security chiefs and other stakeholders in attendance.
JAMBulletin, in it’s latest edition made available on Sunday to The State Online noted that Dr Benjamin at the forum lamented “the desperation that has trailed the Board’s examinations, likening it to war scenarios that attract all the security apparatus, and the criticisms that trailed the billions of naira remitted to the coffers of government by corrupt commentators who felt the money should have been shared or used for personal aggrandizement.”
Deploring the menace of corruption in the country, the JAMB’s spokesperson said sensitization against it at foundation levels of students would yield better results.
He therefore charged the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to take the fight and sensitization to the grass-root, particularly the primary and secondary schools with a view to entrenching the culture of discipline and uprightness in the society.
Speaking earlier at the event, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the fight against corruption was one of the three cardinal programmes of the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration with the two others being the war on insecurity and revamping the economy.
- Alhaji Lai Mohammed*
The Minister said, “Yes, this is not the first time Nigeria is fighting the canker-worm but it is the first time that the fight is being backed by a strong political will and a president renowned for his honour, dignity and incorruptibility personally leading the fight. This is making a lot of difference.”