The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) on Monday, told the House of Representatives Committee on Job Racketeering why it employed over 300 persons into the board without advertising .
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede said this while responding to the allegation levelled against the agency of engaging in lopsided employment of 300 staff .
The Committee insisted that the employment which took place between 2015 and 2023 was against federal character principle.
Responding JAMB maintained that it followed the principle and it was done out of exigency.
Oloyede, in his response said the board followed the federal character principles in the job recruitment exercise it conducted from 2015 till date.
He said the board had been waived by the relevant agencies to employ staff to replace those that had left, disclosing that the board had five sets of recruitment in the period under review.
The Registrar, said JAMB had sought waiver to recruit over 300 people instead of advertising because of exigencies of duty as about 12 – 13 centres were coming on board and there was need to man them.
“We used the waiver because we believe the exigency of the time and the nature of our work deserves it. If we are to advertise for the three hundred, we wouldn’t be able to meet up with what we needed them for.
“I believe very strongly that it was very very necessary at that time that we recruited and I assure you that we did not shortchange those who are qualified,” Oloyede said.
He also said the alleged lopsided employement by the examination body was due to the need to fill vacancies in the over 40 offices in different states of the federation, adding that most of the staff recruitment was done after consultation with state governors.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Adhoc committee Hon Yussuf Gagdi while grilling Oloyede,at its resumed hearing, decried lack of adherence to extant regulation of public service.
Gadgi said, it discovered that JAMB employed the staff without advertising and demanded that the list of all the employees should be immediately submitted.
He said the agency has shortchanged many Nigerians citizens according to their employment records.
Gagdi said from the documents available to the panel, the board had been employing without due process of advertisement, shortlisting and interview of job seekers.
The Chairman and other members of the panel stated that JAMB has so far relied on waivers for recruitment of staff against the provisions of the law on non engagement of more than 100 staff annually.
Gadgi stressed that recruiting about 300 staff through waiver was against the federal character, saying a waiver is to be granted only if an agency is collapsing.
He said: “What makes you think advertising wouldn’t have been better? You have the capacity to screen the people that apply to get better hands to do those jobs. I’m asking this because we are most interested in correcting the fraud associated with waivers.”
He however, in his ruling said the agency must submit the nominal roll of its staff recruited within the period in tabular form state by state.
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