By Comfort Olayinka
The House of Representatives committee on Public Accounts has ordered the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to remit N3,602,605,277 to the Federal Government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF)provide evidence of remittance within 30 days.
The chairman of the committee, Hon. Bamidele Salam, gave the order during the opening hearing, where the Fiscal Responsibility Commission representative, Mr. Bello Aliyu, stated that JAMB’s liabilities had been computed and they were duly informed.
According to Mr. Aliyu, JAMB’s liabilities as at 2022 are N3,602,605,277, which they have notified the board via letters written on March 14, 2024, and August 31, 2024, with no response from the board.
The Director of Finance and Administration, JAMB, Mr. Mufutau Bello, reacted to the allegation, stating that the difference in remittances figure is due to the Fiscal Responsibility Commission wanting to move the board to 50% of revenue.
Mr. Bello explained that JAMB has been remitting 25% of its revenue annually and has not increased any of its charges in the last 8 years, despite reducing the registration fee from N5000 to N3500.
“As at 2021 and in agreement with the record we submitted to the Committee the liabilities are N390,725,324 but after the submission of that report, JAMB has submitted their 2022 audited financial statement, we have computed the liabilities and duly inform them.
“The new liability as at 2022 is N3,602,605,277, this we have notified them via our letter written on the 14th of March, 2024 and another reminder which we just submitted as at 31st August, 2024.
There was no response to the letter from the board”.
The Committee Chairman, Hon. Bamidele Salam, stated that remittances are not subject to personal interpretation, but rather a matter of law or regulation.
“It’s a matter of law or regulation, so how does the difference between 25% and 50% position now arise.
What exactly does the law say or does the law apply to JAMB.”
The Fiscal Responsibility Commission representative clarified that the commission’s power comes from the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which requires all scheduled agencies to remit 80% of their operating surplus.
“There was a finance act 2021 which appealed the exception of our act to now categorize these agencies, fully funded agencies, partially funded agencies and self funded agencies.
“JAMB falls under partially funded and as I read here sir, “All partially funded federal government agencies parastatal receiving capital or overhead allocation from the federal government budget should limit their annual budgetary expenditure from the internally Generated Revenue to not more than 50% of their gross IGR and remit 100% of the remaining 50% to the sub-precurrent account and at the end of the year a reconciliation should be carried out for the 80% and 20% thing, then the actual liability for that agency for that year is actually the higher of the two. He added
