THE Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) has reacted to The ICIR’s report on the investigation of its Registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) based on a petition by a former member of staff, Yisa Usman.
Responding to the report via its official X handle on Friday, February 2, JAMB disclosed that Usman’s petition was not filed in good faith.
“The petitioner in question was a former staff of the Board who is currently standing trial for defamation and unauthorised disclosure of official information of the Board in his desperation to be the Director of Finance and Account Department of the Board.
“The matter as well as the facts are before a court of competent jurisdiction, and the Board would not be dragged into issues that are subjudice on the social media,” the post read.
The ICIR reported on Friday that the CCB was probing claims of corruption and abuse of office, among other infractions levelled against Oloyede.
The probe stemmed from allegations by Usman that Oloyede approved the transfer of funds from the Treasury Single Account (TSA) into private accounts, some of which belong to principal staff at the organisation.
A source from the CCB confirmed to The ICIR that investigations were ongoing based on the petition.
Usman accused Oloyede of directly crediting accounts of JAMB’s state coordinators with N2.2 million naira for the purchase of office computers, while some directors had money paid into their accounts for official vehicles, contravening Nigeria’s Public Sector Financial Regulation Act (2009).
The petition also queried the Registrar’s recruitment of over 500 staff without publicly declaring vacancies as provided by the Federal Character Principle in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Usman’s alleged wrongful dismissal from service.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.