Officials of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) walked out during a heated session with the House of Representatives committee on Wednesday.
The confrontation unfolded at the National Assembly complex during a scheduled oversight meeting aimed at reviewing JAMB’s budget, expenditure records, and remittances to the government from 2023 onward.
The House committee, headed by Chairman Obuku Oforji, had repeatedly requested the presence of JAMB Registrar Ishaq Oloyede and specific financial documents via letters sent throughout October.
Representing the registrar, Mufutau Bello, a director at JAMB, arrived at the session but requested journalists leave, due to the confidential nature of the documents he intended to present. The committee insisted on maintaining transparency, refusing to hold the hearing behind closed doors. In response, Bello and other JAMB officials exited the room abruptly, refusing further participation.
As a result of this action, the Committee Chairman ordered the Sergeant-at-Arms to arrest the officials, but they had already left the premises. Oforji described the action as “unfortunate and unacceptable.”
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Committee Chairman Obuku Oforji condemned the walkout. He stated;
We wrote three consecutive letters to the registrar requesting these documents; instead of appearing, he sent a director who accused us of trying to embarrass JAMB. That is very unfortunate. Our duty is to ensure every agency under our watch is accountable to Nigerians.
The National Assembly is constitutionally mandated to conduct oversight of public institutions to ensure transparency and proper use of public funds. The session was organized to scrutinise JAMB’s 2023-2024 budget performance, internally generated revenue (IGR), and remittances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).
In recent years, JAMB has received commendation for increasing its remittances to the government’s treasury, including over N6 billion in 2024. This claim however, raised tension between the executive agencies responsible for revenue generation and the legislature’s duty to ensure public accountability.
The committee immediately adjourned the session and issued a new summons for the Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, to appear personally next Tuesday, warned that failure to comply would compel the committee to invoke constitutional powers for an arrest warrant.
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