The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has said that the board could take care of its staff salaries and other financial costs associated with its operations without financial contributions from the Federal Government.
He added that it has not been receiving capital votes from the government since the inception of the Ishaq Oloyede leadership because it generates enough money that takes care of all its needs, with excess funds regularly forwarded to the government coffers.
Spaeking during an interactive session with journalists in Benin, Edo State on Monday, Prof. Oloyede also faulted the claims that it is a ‘money-spinner’ for the Federal Government, merely based on the board’s partnership with security agencies in the recruitment of personnel.
According to him, the agency, under his watch, had embraced prudence in the management of its allocations and returned any surplus to the government.
When asked how the board’s financial resources were managed under previous administrations, Oloyede said, “When you ask me what they were doing with the money before, I was not there, so I am not in a position to tell you what they were doing.
“The one I know is that the government gave me an assignment. I have done the assignment and the surplus must be returned to the owner. That is what I know.
“So, some persons are raising questions: Are we a money-generating agency? Must we go and steal the money simply because the money was there? So, at times, I do not understand the logic of some people. They prefer that the money is generated and wasted.”
The registrar further explained, “The first thing we did when we came in was that the government should not give us capital votes again. They (past management) used to collect capital votes and overheads from government, but we stopped it.
“JAMB funds itself, except for salaries; and we will be happy if government even stops the salaries. We have stopped capital and overheads because we believed that we did not need them.
“And if, after spending capital and overheads, we still have a surplus of billions, do people want us to waste the billions or to steal it? So, that is why I am surprised that people are making noise that we are generating money.
“If you say we are increasing the charges, I can understand. But we are not doing so.”