Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC/Edo North) expressed his apprehensions regarding the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) financial outlay for 2024 during the agency’s 2025 budget review session in front of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Finance.
Oshiomhole questioned JAMB’s registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, about the N850 million allocated for security, sanitation, and fumigation in the previous year. He commented, “You allocated N1.1 billion for meals and refreshments. Are you enjoying complimentary food from the government? This indicates that you are utilizing funds generated from underprivileged students, many of whom are orphans.”
He probed further, “You also spent N850 million on security, sanitation, and fumigation in 2024. What exactly did you fumigate? Was it mosquitoes that consumed all this money?” Oshiomhole criticized JAMB for allocating N600 million for domestic travel.
In reply, Prof. Oloyede revealed that JAMB had contributed N4 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 2024 while receiving a N6 billion grant from the Federal Government. This led the Chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Abiodun Faleke, to question why an agency that generates its own revenue and is self-sufficient relies on federal funding: “You contributed N4 billion and received N6 billion from the Federal Government. Why not retain the N4 billion and eliminate the government’s financial support for JAMB?”
The legislators hinted at the potential removal of JAMB’s allocation in future budgets unless compelling explanations for its ongoing dependency on government funding are presented.