Reps Grill WAEC boss over N6bn deficit, N5bn loan

The House of Representatives Committee on Basic Examination Bodies on Tuesday grilled the Head of National Office of the West African Examination Council Nigeria, Josiah Dangut, over a N6bn deficit the agency incurred in 2023 during an investigative hearing.

Dangut was accompanied by the Registrar, Angus Okeleze; Senior Deputy Registrar, Victor Odu; Acting Director of Finance, Segun Jerumeh; and Deputy Director of Finance, WAEC.

The Committee also questioned the examination body regarding a N5bn loan it obtained in 2022 for the purchase of customized calculators.

Dangut presented the agency’s cashbook to the Committee, but they rejected it, insisting on the submission of the agency’s bank statements.

Following unsatisfactory responses from the WAEC representatives, the Committee, led by its chairman, resolved that WAEC must submit all its bank statements from 2018 to the present within a week.

A Committee member, Awaji-Inombek Abiante, described WAEC as uncooperative, emphasising the need for accountability.

“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,” he said.

The Committee was displeased that out of eight submissions requested from the examination body to probe their expenditure, only one, the nominal roll, was provided.

The Committee Chairman demanded an explanation for how WAEC generated N34 billion in 2023 but spent N40 billion. He also questioned how the examination body could approve a loan of up to N5 billion when even a Ministerial Board could not approve such an amount.

He queried the WAEC Head about how many students participated in the 2022 examinations for which the calculators were purchased.

The Committee demanded that WAEC provide details of the expenditures leading to the N6 billion deficit and all correspondence related to the purchase of the customised calculators.

They also insisted on receiving evidence of approval for the N5 billion loan used to purchase the customized calculators.

The Committee further demanded evidence of due process followed for the award of the contract, as well as payment records, including vouchers and bank statements.

Additionally, the Committee requested evidence of submission of accounts to the Auditor General for the Federation from 2018 to 2023.

They also asked for the profile of the external auditor for the agency and the engagement letters for the past three years.

The Committee questioned WAEC for breaching financial, public procurement, and financial regulations by paying 50 per cent of the contract for constructing its Taraba state office, valued at N532 million.

Dangut requested additional time to present the statement of account and other documents demanded by the lawmakers. He explained that he had to pay 50 per cent of the Taraba office contract sum to avoid a significant rise in costs due to inflation.

Committee Chairman Oboku clarified that the Committee on Basic Education Examination Bodies is not a witch-hunting committee but is focused on fulfilling its constitutional obligations.

“Both the legislative house and WAEC are bound by the Constitution. As such, the committee expects full cooperation from WAEC, including the timely provision of all necessary documents to expedite our inquiry and report,” he said.