WAEC Faces Scrutiny Over Financial Irregularities

The House of Representatives was buzzing with questions on Tuesday as the National Office of the West African Examination Council, led by Josiah Dangut, faced tough inquiries about a whopping N6 billion deficit from 2023.

Along with Dangut, other officials including Registrar Angus Okeleze and Senior Deputy Registrar Victor Odu were also present, but the committee was not satisfied with the answers they provided during the investigative hearing.

One major concern was a N5 billion loan WAEC had taken out in 2022 to buy customized calculators. Dangut showed the committee’s cashbook, but that didn’t cut it; they demanded the agency’s bank statements instead.

The committee, led by its chairman, expressed frustration over WAEC’s lack of cooperation and the failure to provide requested documents. As Awaji-Inombek Abiante pointed out, this unease was about making sure Nigerians get value for the money invested.

The members couldn’t understand how WAEC managed to rake in N34 billion in revenue yet still overspent by N6 billion. Moreover, they were baffled by how a loan of N5 billion could be approved without clear oversight.

They insisted that WAEC answer critical questions about those extravagant expenditures and provide full transparency, including correspondence related to the controversial calculators.

A serious red flag for the committee was WAEC’s practice of paying 50% in advance for constructing its office in Taraba state, which cost N532 million.

In response to all these tough inquiries, Dangut requested more time to gather the necessary documents, emphasizing that he acted quickly to avoid inflated costs on the Taraba project.

The Committee Chairman, Oboku, made it clear that their role is not to hunt down WAEC but to ensure they fulfill their constitutional duties, stressing the importance of cooperation during this inquiry.