The House of Representatives has mandated its Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies to investigate the budget implementation, Internally Generated Revenues (IGRs), and alleged unauthorised virements by the National Examination Council (NECO) between 2023 and 2025.
This followed the adoption of a motion on urgent public importance moved by Amobi Ogah (LP, Abia) during Thursday’s plenary.
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Presenting the motion, Mr Ogah reminded the House that, under Sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution, the National Assembly and its committees possess the inherent powers to summon, demand documents, and conduct investigations into the operations of any government ministry, department, or agency.
He noted that NECO, as a government agency generating internal revenue for the federation, is constitutionally required to be transparent and accountable in its financial dealings.
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The lawmaker added that the council must also present its bank statements from 2023 to date, along with evidence of remittances into the Federation Account within the same period, to enable proper oversight of its financial performance.
“NECO, as an agency of government, generates IGR for the federation. It therefore behoves it to be accountable to Nigerians.
“In carrying out its mandate effectively, the National Assembly or the relevant committee must have access to the NECO’s budget/IGR performance and implementation from 2023 to date. It must also peruse NECO’s bank statements of account from 2023 to date. NECO must also provide evidence of remittance to the Federation Account for the same period (2023 to date),” Mr Ogah said.
Mr Ogah expressed concern over reports that NECO had allegedly been implementing virement, that is, reallocating funds within its budget without the required legislative approval.
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He described such action, if confirmed, as a direct violation of the Nigerian Constitution and a disregard for the oversight powers of the National Assembly.
“If this is so, it is a flagrant violation of our constitution and inherent powers of this Honourable House as enshrined in it,” he warned.
Following deliberations, the House resolved to mandate the Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies to investigate NECO’s virement implementation for 2025 and its budget and IGR performance from 2023 to date.
The committee is expected to obtain NECO’s bank statements and verify all remittances to the Federation Account during the same period and report its findings within three weeks.
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