JAMB denies spending N9bn on food and others - UABS

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has denied being queried by the National Assembly over an alleged expenditure of N9 billion on meals, refreshments, and security.

In a statement released by its spokesperson, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, JAMB clarified that it appeared before the Joint Committee of both the Senate and the House of Representatives on Finance on Monday, January 13, 2025, to defend its 2025 budget proposal in line with statutory requirements.

“It is crucial to note that what JAMB on the prompting of the Committee presented was not the 2024 expenditure but solely the 2025 budget proposal, which meant that claims regarding humongous spending in 2024 on meals or fumigation, security and cleaning are totally unfounded,” he said.

Dr. Benjamin further stated that during the budget defense, there was no presentation of any 2024 expenditure of N1.1 billion for feeding or N850 million for fumigation.

“Among the items included in the 2025 budget proposal is the provision of one meal per day for the 2,300 staff members (cleaners/security inclusive) of the Board nationwide, covering all working days throughout the year,” the statement added.

He explained that over the past two years, the cost of providing meals for headquarters staff had been N1,200 per day per staff member. However, due to rising food prices, vendors have requested an increase to N2,200 (including 13.5% taxes). Based on this new price, the total cost for providing meals for the 2,300 staff members throughout the working days in 2025 is projected to be N1.27 billion, but JAMB has budgeted N1.1 billion for this purpose.

Dr. Benjamin justified the initiative, noting it recognizes the sensitive responsibilities of JAMB staff while minimizing their exposure to the public during working hours and preventing risks to ICT infrastructure posed by eating in the offices. He added that the management had sought and obtained approval to provide lunch at the headquarters and plans to extend the initiative to all 2,300 workers nationwide.

Regarding the N850 million provisioned for the emolument of outsourced cleaners, security personnel, cleaning materials, fumigation services, and tax, Dr. Benjamin said, “In compliance with government policy on outsourcing, JAMB has engaged firms and agencies that provide 386 security personnel and 194 cleaners across its over forty offices and PTC centers nationwide. The N850 million proposed in the budget proposal covers running and operational costs, with only N2 million specifically earmarked for fumigation services for the year. (It was less than N1 million in 2024).”

He emphasized that the budget reflects a recent salary review mandated by the government and described claims about high fumigation costs as misleading, pointing out that the least-paid security personnel would now earn a minimum of N70,000, while cleaners’ pay would be at least doubled from the current N30,000 minimum wage.

Dr. Benjamin stressed that the clarification was necessary to prevent misinformation, reiterating that the submitted provisions represent a budget proposal, not expenditures already incurred by the Board in 2024. He added that all capital, overhead, and operational costs of the Board are funded from its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), while the government only covers the salaries of pensionable JAMB staff.

Addressing the N6.4 billion proposed for “Local Travel and Transport (Training)” for over 10,500 staff and officials to conduct the 2025 UTME mock examination and other engagements, Dr. Benjamin explained that the Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs) budgeting template mandates that all expenditures peculiar to JAMB be categorized under this heading.

“As a Government Owned Enterprise, JAMB is compelled to comply with the Budget Information Management Monitoring System (BIMMS) for GOEs and that explains why the amount was lumped under the heading but with asterisk and details provided on the succeeding page of the submission which the Board was disallowed to explain,” he concluded.