The House of Representatives has directed the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to remit N3.602 billion to the Federal Government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).
The order was issued during an investigative hearing in Abuja by Rep. Bamidele Salam, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.
According to Salam, the remittance is mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), and compliance is not open to interpretation.
“This is a matter of law or regulation, and has nothing to do with the differences between 25 percent and 50 percent, as JAMB has argued,” he stated.
The committee unanimously decided that JAMB must pay the full amount to the FRC and provide evidence of the remittance within 30 days.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the FRC brought JAMB before the committee over unremitted operating surpluses.
Mr. Bello Aliyu, representing the FRC, noted that JAMB’s liabilities as of 2021 stood at N390.725 million, based on records submitted to the committee.
“Following JAMB’s submission of its 2022 audited financial statement, we have computed the new liabilities to be N3.602 billion,” Aliyu said.
“We notified JAMB of this via a letter dated March 14, and sent a reminder on August 31.
However, there has been no response from the board.”
In response, Mr. Mufutau Bello, JAMB’s Director of Finance and Administration, explained that the disagreement arose because the FRC wanted JAMB to remit 50 percent of its revenue, while JAMB has been operating on a 25 percent remittance concession granted by the Accountant-General’s office.
“As an organization, JAMB has been committed to revenue remittance, and in 2019, the Federal Government reduced our registration fees from N5,000 to N3,500 for the benefit of Nigerians,” Bello explained.
“We have been remitting 25 percent annually, and despite being in the education sector, we haven’t increased fees in eight years. In fact, we reduced the fee by 30 percent.”
Bello maintained that JAMB has consistently complied with the 25 percent remittance concession and has even over-remitted in recent years. “The FRC believes we should remit 50 percent, but based on the 25 percent rate, we have met and exceeded our obligations,” he said.
(NAN)
