Mass sack looms at JAMB

There are strong indications that many officials of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) found culpable in the misappropriation of public funds in their care will have their appointments terminated.

An audit team recently discovered that millions of naira generated from the sale of scratch cards to candidates that sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) could not be accounted for in several state offices.

A senior official of JAMB said investigators were not satisfied with explanations offered by some state coordinators and a clerk involved in the matter and thus, recommended the termination of their jobs.

The official said the monies in question, running into millions of naira, were realised from the sale of scratch cards between 2014 and 16.
The official said all these happened when the Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, was not at the helm.

He said Prof Ishaq “is running the most transparent administration, and any official involved in any dishonest transaction will have himself to blame,” he said.

JAMB spokesman, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, said those found guilty in the shoddy deals might lose their jobs and also face prosecution. He confirmed that officers involved in the inquiry were mostly state coordinators and a clerk.

A clerk attached to the board’s office in Benue State had reportedly told investigators that the sum of N36m was ingested by a “mysterious snake” which investigators said they had not seen.

In Ondo State, N1.3m is said to be missing. In the Edo State office, N31m was discovered missing, while in Kogi State, auditors failed to trace the whereabouts of N7m.

In Plateau State, some officials were said to have mismanaged about N16m and in Nasarawa State, N23m was discovered missing.

About N20m was missing in the Kano State office and in the Yobe office N613, 000 was confirmed missing. In Gombe State, N10.2m has not been accounted for.