Lawmakers threaten to exclude JAMB from budget grant over low remittance

The joint committee on finance at the national assembly has threatened to stop a federal grant to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in the 2025 budget proposal.

The grant is part of the yearly budgetary appropriation designed to cover operational costs and support the board’s activities.

Ishaq Oloyede, the JAMB registrar, appeared before a joint committee session of the senate and the house of representatives on 2025 revenue projections.

It was part of an interactive engagement aimed at assessing revenue projections from various ministries, departments, and agencies.

Sani Musa, an All Progressives Congress senator representing Niger East, chaired the session which was held on Monday.

Oloyede presented the board’s revenue projections for the 2025 fiscal year.

He explained that JAMB remitted N4 billion to the consolidated revenue fund while receiving N6 billion in budgetary allocations for 2024.

Lawmakers, including the chairman of the house of reps committee on finance Abiodun Faleke and the APC senator representing Edo North Adams Oshiomhole, criticised the funding arrangement.

The committee queried why an agency that funds itself should be getting allocations from the federal government.

“Why not keep the N4 billion and stop the government from funding JAMB?” Faleke asked.

Oshiomhole took issue with JAMB’s spending, highlighting the N1.1 billion spent on meals and refreshments in the 2025 budget proposal.

“Are you being fed by the government? This money comes from poor students, many of whom are orphans,” he said.

He further questioned expenditures, including N850 million on security, cleaning, and fumigation; N600 million on local travel; N6.5 billion on training; and N1 billion for a staff housing scheme.

He called for a detailed breakdown of these costs.

Oloyede attempted to clarify these but was directed to come back in three days with a more comprehensive presentation.

The senate criticised the low remittances by the MDAs in 2024, noting a significant gap between the revenue generated and amounts remitted to the federation account.

It cited inefficiency, mismanagement, and potential revenue leakages as key issues.

The chairman Sani Musa warned that these discrepancies hinder the government’s ability to fund critical infrastructure and social services.