FG orders probe of former JAMB, NIMASA bosses

The Federal Government has ordered the investigation of former  heads of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency over poor remittances to the Federal Government’s accounts in the past.

The decision was reached by the Federal Executive Council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Briefing the council about the performances of some government agencies,  Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun,  disclosed  that JAMB for the first time remitted ₦5bn to the government, promising to pay the balance of ₦3bn as against the maximum ₦3m per annum remitted in the past.

In July, JAMB had announced the transfer of ₦5bn revenue to the Federal Government account, which is the highest so far in the last 40 years of its existence.

FEC also commended  the new Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, for boosting the revenue and remittances of the agency to the Federal Government.

Adeosun said the discrepancy in the remittances of the two agencies in the past had prompted the decision to probe all previous heads of the two agencies.

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The minister also disclosed that other agencies with similar discrepancies in their revenue remittances would be probed.

The two immediate past directors-general of NIMASA, Patrick Akpobolokemi and Haruna Jauro, have already been charged to court for alleged diversion of billions of naira.

Another former DG of NIMASA, Raymond Omatseye, was convicted for fraud to the tune of ₦1.5bn by a Federal High Court last year. His conviction was, however, upturned by the Appeal Court in May 2017.

With the new development, the immediate past Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, will also be investigated.

Adeosun revealed that the council specifically directed the ministry of finance to look into the past revenue remittances of the JAMB  NIMASA.

“The highest amount that JAMB had ever remitted into the consolidated revenue fund before this management was ₦3m.

“This year so far they have done ₦5bn and the Minister of Education reported that they have an additional ₦3bn that they are ready to remit which will take this year’s figure alone to ₦8bn and they have not increased their charges, they have not increased their fees.

“So, the question the council members were asking was, where was all this money before?

“So, the directive was given that we must call the former heads of all these agencies and similar ones to account (for their financial dealings), and that is the directive we have been given and that is what we intend to do and it is a similar story with other agencies.

“These are the leakages which we have now come in and we are blocking,’’ she said.