During an investigative hearing on Tuesday, the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Examination Bodies questioned Josiah Dangut, the Head of the National Office of the West African Examination Council Nigeria, WAEC, about a ₦6 billion deficit the agency suffered in 2023....READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE ▶▶
In addition, the examination organization was questioned about the N5 billion loan that it had taken out in 2022 to buy personalized calculators….READ FULL ARTICLE
Dangut was joined by Deputy Director of Finance, WAEC, Senior Deputy Registrar, Victor Odu, and Acting Director of Finance, Segun Jerumeh.
According to Naija news, the committee rejected the agency’s cashbook that he brought before them, demanding that the agency submit its bank statements instead.
The committee decided that WAEC had to provide all of its bank statements from 2018 to the present within a week after receiving inadequate answers from the organization’s officials.
Committee member Awaji-Inombek Abiante stressed the need for accountability while characterizing WAEC as obstructive.
“WAEC Nigeria was an uncooperative witness in this process, shielding and denying Nigerians the value of the country’s investment in that office. They should submit to this committee, in furtherance of this investigation, all the bank account statements of the office,” Abiante said.
The committee expressed dissatisfaction that only one of the eight submissions—the nominal roll—was made available to the examining body despite their request for information about their spending.
The panel sought an explanation for WAEC’s N40 billion expenditure in 2023 despite its N34 billion in revenue.
It also questioned how a ministerial board could not authorize a loan of up to N5 billion, let alone the examination body.
It asked the WAEC Head how many students took part in the 2022 exams, for which the N5 billion worth of calculators were bought.
The Committee required WAEC to submit all correspondence pertaining to the acquisition of the customized calculators as well as specifics regarding the expenses that resulted in the N6 billion deficit.
A proof of permission for the N5 billion loan that was utilized to buy the personalized calculators was another thing they insisted upon….READ FULL ARTICLE
