Oloyede, the anti-corruption sentinel

One of the most bizarre tales in the annals of Nigerian public service went viral recently when an officer at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s [JAMB] office in Makurdi, Benue State claimed that a snake swallowed N36million generated from the sale of scratch cards. Sales clerk at JAMB’s Makurdi office, Philomena Chieshe, told auditors […]

One of the most bizarre tales in the annals of Nigerian public service went viral recently when an officer at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s [JAMB] office in Makurdi, Benue State claimed that a snake swallowed N36million generated from the sale of scratch cards. Sales clerk at JAMB’s Makurdi office, Philomena Chieshe, told auditors this cock and bull story during an on-going nationwide probe of regional offices ordered by JAMB’s Registrar Prof Ishaq Oloyede. 

Even though Philomena Chieshe later claimed that she never said a snake swallowed the money, a video recording of the audit session chaired by Oloyede confirmed that she indeed said so, albeit in a more complicated manner. She accused a colleague of hers of “spiritually” stealing the money kept in the safe by sending a snake to devour it. JAMB’s spokesperson Fabian Benjamin also confirmed that there was indeed a case of fraud and criminality at the Board’s Makurdi office.

A week later, the Registrar’s audit team uncovered another N26 million scam, this time in JAMB’s Nasarawa State office. The former coordinator of the office there was said to have also embezzled the money generated from the sale of scratch cards. The officer claimed that the unsold scratch cards got burnt when his car was involved in an accident. However, he failed to account for the ones he sold before the use of scratch cards was jettisoned under Professor Oloyede’s leadership of JAMB. His claims were found to be untrue as records from JAMB database showed that the serial numbers of the scratch cards which the officer claimed were burnt were actually used by candidates. 

Two more incredible stories soon emerged. Yobe State JAMB Coordinator Sanusi Atose, who could not account for N613,000 belonging to the board, blamed the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East for his inability to account for the money. Atose, who also appeared before the administrative panel led Oloyede, claimed that a Boko Haram attack in Yobe State destroyed tellers, receipts and invoices which he said left him with no documentation for the transactions. Oloyede however dismissed his claim and ordered him to repay the money within a week. Next was Daniel Agbor, JAMB’s Kogi State coordinator who said he spent N7million out of JAMB’s money to assist other workers in his office who he said were ravaged by poverty. He said, “The state of the state offices is such that we are in poverty and money is there with us.” He added that some of the cards were stolen by unknown persons.

Prior to Oloyede’s assumption of office as Registrar in 2016, candidates used scratch cards to access JAMB’s website either for registration or other services related to admission into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. JAMB’s spokesperson said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC] and the police had been invited to assist the Board in recovering funds allegedly stolen by its officials both at JAMB headquarters in Abuja and the state offices. He said the fraud cases were all perpetrated before Oloyede became the Board’s Registrar. 

Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun told members of the Federal Executive Council [FEC] last year that while JAMB under Professor Oloyede remitted N5.2 billion to the Federation Account in 2017 alone, the same agency which generated N30 billion in 5 years remitted only N15 million. Adeosun said a maximum of N3million was remitted yearly since JAMB was established 40 years ago; a remittance gap that prompted FEC to order a probe of JAMB’s cash books.

Clearly, Professor Is-haq Oloyede is an uncommon example of a Nigerian public servant and a committed sentinel of the on-going anti-corruption war. Through commitment and personal dedication he not only exposed the cesspool of corruption that existed in JAMB but also took steps to catch the fraudsters and instituted system reforms to curtail fraud and theft. He is a hero of the anti-corruption campaign and we urge all CEOs of other MDAs in the country to borrow a leaf from Professor Is-haq Oloyede.