Reps quiz WAEC boss over N6bn deficit incurred in 2023

The House of Representatives has quizzed the Head of the National Office, West African Examination Council (WAEC) Nigeria, Mr Josiah Dangut, over a N6 billion deficit the agency incurred in 2023.

The House Committee on Basic Examination Bodies, led by Rep. Oforji Oboku, grilled Dangut during an investigative hearing in Abuja on Tuesday.

The committee queried WAEC over a loan of N5 billion it got in 2022 for the purchase of a customised calculator.

Dangut, in a defence, provided the cashbook of the agency to the committee but the members declined, insisting that it must submit bank statements.

The committee chairman said WAEC had to explain how it generated N34 billion in 2023, but spent N40 billion.

He also wondered how the examination body could approve a loan of up to N5 billion when even the Ministerial Board could not approve such an amount.

He asked the WAEC boss to tell the committee how many students participated in the 2022 examinations for which the calculators were obtained.

Following the unsatisfactory response by the WAEC representatives, the committee resolved that WAEC must submit all its bank statements from 2018 to date “within a week”.

A member of the committee, Awaji-Inombek Abiante, described WAEC as uncooperative, saying that it must be held accountable.

“WAEC Nigeria was an uncooperative witness in this process, shielding and denying Nigerians the value of whatever investment the country has had in that office.

“WAEC should submit all its bank account statements to the committee in furtherance of the investigation,” he said.

The committee said that out of eight submissions demanded from the examination body in a bid to probe its expenditure, only one – nominal role – was submitted.

The committee demanded that WAEC should provide the expenditures that led to the N6 billion deficit and all correspondences related to the purchase of customised calculators.

The committee further said that evidence of approval for the N5 billion loan to purchase the customised calculators must be provided.

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

It queried WAEC for breaching the public procurement and financial regulations act in the payment of 50 per cent of the contract for the construction of its Taraba office valued at N532 million.

Dangut, however, pleaded with the lawmakers to give him another date to enable him present the statement of account and other documents demanded.

He also explained that he had to pay 50 per cent of the Taraba office contract sum to avoid the astronomical rise in the inflationary trend in the country.