2025 Budget: JAMB speaks on alleged outrageous expenditures

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has provided clarifications regarding allegations of outrageous expenses in the just concluded 2024.

The board, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, noted that it did not present any expenditure for the year 2024 during its meeting with a joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Finance on Monday.

JAMB explained that what was presented before the lawmakers was the proposed budget for 2025.

The board also defended each of the items flagged as outrageous by the lawmakers in the proposed budget.

“It is crucial to note that what JAMB on the prompting of the Committee presented was not the 2024 expenditure but solely the 2025 budget proposal, which meant that claims regarding humongous spending in 2024 on meals or fumigation, security and cleaning are totally unfounded,” it said in the statement.

Criticisms

During a budget defence with the committee on Monday, the lawmakers quizzed JAMB Registrar, Is-haq Oloyede, a professor, on what they say was outrageous spendings by the board in 2024.

They accused the board of spending N1.1 billion on meals and refreshments, N850 million security cleaning and fumigation, N600 million on local travels, N6.5 billion on local training and N1 billion on staff housing.

“You spent N1.1 billion on meals and refreshments. Are you being freely fed by the government? What this means is that you are spending the money you generate from poor students, many of them orphans,” one of the lawmakers, Adams Oshiomole, a senator, said.

“You also spent N850 million on security, cleaning and fumigation in 2024. What did you fumigate? Is it mosquitoes that took all this money?”

Join the Premium Times WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.

Open in WhatsApp

The JAMB Registrar, Mr Oloyede told the lawmakers that the board remitted over N4 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund while it received a grant of N6 billion from the federal government during the year. But they appear not to be satisfied with his explanations.

Clarifications

But JAMB clarified on Tuesday that its registrar did not discuss or present anything relating to the board’s 2024 expenses at Monday’ meeting.

JAMB said N850 million was earmarked for payments of outsourced cleaners, security personnel, cleaning materials, fumigation services and tax.

The board stated that only N2 million was specifically earmarked for fumigation services for 2025, adding that the cost was less than N1 million in the 2024 budget.

According to the statement, the board had engaged firms and agencies that provide 386 security personnel and 194 cleaners across its over 40 offices and Professional Testing Centres (PTC) nationwide.

“This clarification is vital to prevent misinformation in the public space, as the submitted provisions represent a budget proposal rather than expenditures already incurred by the board in 2024,” it said.

“It is misleading to suggest that a meaningful portion of the budget is solely dedicated to fumigation when the least paid of the security men earns the minimum pay of N30,000 which is now projected to be N70,000 while cleaners pay would be at least doubled.”

It also clarified that the N6.4 billion proposed for “Local Travel and Transport (Training)” is intended for the over 10,500 staff and officials assigned to conduct the 2025 UTME- mock examination and other engagements.

It explained that the amount was lumped under the same item because the template provided for Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs) mandates that all expenditures peculiar to JAMB be categorised under the heading and that the board is not allowed to create any other heading.

“JAMB is compelled to comply with the Budget Information Management Monitoring System (BIMMS) for GOEs and that explains why the amount was lumped under the heading but with asterisk and details provided on the succeeding page of the submission which the board was disallowed to explain,” it said.

“JAMB remains committed to managing its resources prudently, aligning with the requirements and expectations of the nation’s leadership.”

N1.1 billion for feeding

The board also explained the N1.1 billion proposed for meals and feeding, noting that it includes provision of one meal per day for the 2,300 staff members of the board, including cleaners and security personnel for all working days throughout the year.

It said the cost in the last two years had been N1,200 per day per staff and was recently increased to N2,200 after requests by the vendors due to rising food prices.

“Based on this new price, the total cost for providing meals for 2,300 staff members throughout the working days in 2025 is projected to be N1.27 billion. Nevertheless, JAMB has budgeted N1.1 billion for this purpose.”

READ ALSO: JAMB generates N22 billion, remits N6 billion in 2024 — Official

It explained that the initiative to provide meals is a recognition of the sensitive responsibilities of JAMB staff.

“To minimise their exposure to the public during working hours and avoid the danger that eating in the offices posed to ICT infrastructure, the management sought and obtained approval to start providing lunch at the headquarters, with plans to extend this initiative to all the offices nationwide, in response to consistent requests from outstation employees; we plan to commence the initiative to all the 2,300 workers of the board.”