A committee of the House of Representatives investigating job racketeering in ministries, departments, and agencies has flagged the appointment of 300 staff by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
The committee flagged the appointments due to the use of waivers by the management of the board instead of advertising the vacancies.
The query was issued on Monday when the Registrar of JAMB, Ishaq Oloyede, appeared before the committee.
Oloyede informed the committee that the board conducted five recruitment exercises between 2015 and 2023 to fill vacancies created due to retirement.
“We used the waiver because we believe the exigency of the time and the nature of our work deserve it. If we were to advertise for the 300, 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 surcharge those who were qualified,” Oloyede said.
The chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, however, said the decision of JAMB to recruit without advertisement breached the law.
“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 said.
