NASS questions N1bn JAMB spent on meals, refreshments
The National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Finance has questioned the huge amount of money the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) had spent on refreshments and threatened to cut off the Federal Government’s grant to the Board in the 2025 budget proposal over excessive spending.
This decision was made after JAMB registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, presented the Board’s 2025 budget proposal to the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Oloyede said JAMB remitted N4bn to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 2024 but received a grant of N6 billion from the Federal Government.
This sparked criticism from committee members, including Abiodun Faleke and Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who questioned why a self-funding agency like JAMB should receive government allocations.
Faleke asked, “Why not keep the N4 billion and stop government funding for JAMB?” Oshiomhole also slammed JAMB for its expenses, including N1.1 billion on meals and refreshments, N850 million on security and cleaning.
Faleke asked, “Why not keep the N4 billion and stop government funding for JAMB?” Oshiomhole also slammed JAMB for its expenses, including N1.1 billion on meals and refreshments, N850 million on security and cleaning, and N600 million on local travels. He demanded justification for the N6.5 billion spent on local trainings, asking, “What did you fumigate? Is it mosquitoes that took all this money?”¹
“You remitted N4bn and got N6bn from the Federal Government. Why not keep the N4bn and we stop. the government from funding JAMB,” the Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Faleke asked.
“You spent N1.1bn on meals and refreshment. 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.
“You also spent N850m on security, cleaning and fumigation in 2024.What did you fumigate? Is it mosquitoes that took al this money? ” Oshiomhole asked
The former Edo State Governor also slammed JAMB for spending N600m on local travels even as he called on Oloyede to justify the N6.5m on local trainings.