Nigerian Government Orders Probe of Past Head of JAMB, NIMASA, Other Agencies

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Wednesday, September 13th, 2017

Photo caption: Kemi Adeosun, Nigeria’s minister of finance

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The Nigerian government has ordered Forensic probes of some government agencies including Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

The exercise is to recover unremitted revenues, according to Minister of Finance Mrs Kemi Adeosun, who briefed State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

With Mrs Adeosun were Minister of Water Resources Suleiman Adamu, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma and Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina.

According to her, some of the government agencies suspected to be diverting government revenues will be made to account for the past revenues.

She said the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which had been remitting N3 million annually, remitted N5 billion this year alone and disclosed that it had N3 billion more to remit to the government’s purse this year.

The minister also listed past management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) among the offenders.

She said: “Secondly, we spoke about revenue generation. The VAIDS Programme is ongoing and we are having quite a positive response in terms of tax compliance.

“We also reported on the progress made by a number of our agencies some of whom have reported very significant increases in the amount paid into the consolidated revenue fund.

“Council discussed JAMB, which recorded significant progress and NIMASA as well as others and gave us the charge to really go and look at these agencies, look in some cases the past management of those agencies and see where those agencies were leaking and to encourage agencies that haven’t done so to continue with efficiencies,” she said.

Asked to disclose the figures expected from the agencies, Mrs Adeosun said: “The highest amount that JAMB has ever remitted to the consolidated revenue fund before this management was N3 million. This year, so far, they have done N5 billion and the Minister of Education reported that they have additional N3 billion that they are ready to remit, which will take this year’s figure alone to N8 billion.

“Now they have not increased their charges nor their fees. So the question that Council members were asking was that where were all these monies before?

“So the directive was given that we must call those who were the heads of those agencies and similar ones to account and that is what we intend to do.”

She added: “It’s a similar story with other agencies and these are the leakages which we are now blocking. These are the monies in the consolidated fund that is now being applied in the projects that really need to get the economy moving. These are the monies that are missing that has led us to the position we are in. It is the grandest looting that this administration action has come in to address.”/The Nation