NASS Threatens To Discontinue Funding JAMB, Over N1bn

By Gloria Ikibah

The National Assembly Joint Committee on Finance has warned that it may discontinue the Federal Government’s grant to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in the 2025 budget due to concerns over excessive spending.

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This was the resolution after the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, presented the agency’s 2025 budget proposal to the Joint Committee comprising members of the Senate and House of Representatives.

Oloyede disclosed that while JAMB remitted N4 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 2024, it also received a N6 billion grant from the Federal Government.

This raised concerns among committee members, including Rep. Abiodun Faleke and Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who questioned the justification for allocating government funds to JAMB, which is supposed to be a self-sustaining agency.

Faleke queried: “Why not keep the N4 billion and stop government funding for JAMB?”

Oshiomhole also criticized severely 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 f on 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 N6.5bn on local trainings.

….Details later