WAEC Officials In Big Scandal Over Accountability Issues As House Of Reps Orders Their Arrest
The House of Representatives Committee on Basic Examination Bodies has ordered the detention of four senior officials of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) by the Nigerian Police. The officials, including Amos Dangut, Head of National Office WAEC Nigeria, Senior Deputy Registrar Angus Okeleze, Acting Director of Finance Victor Odu, and Deputy Director of Finance Segun Jerumeh, were detained after failing to satisfactorily respond to the panel’s questions.
The arrest followed a motion filed by committee member Uchenna Okonkwo. The detained officials claimed they were not accountable to the Nigerian government as they were employed by WAEC, an entity not considered a government agency. However, the lawmakers asserted that WAEC Nigeria is a creation of an Act of the National Assembly and thus must report to the parliament.
“I would like to move a motion that while pending the investigation to look into the activities of WAEC Nigeria, the guest before us should be taken into custody and held at the police post while we seek solutions to these issues they are bringing upon Nigerians,” Okonkwo was quoted by PUNCH.
The motion was seconded by Marie Ebikake, member representing Brass/Nembe Federal Constituency, Bayelsa State. Despite protests from the WAEC officials, they were led away by the Sergeant at Arms of the National Assembly and detained for about 15 minutes.
Following a brief closed-door session, the committee ordered their release and mandated them to return with the audited statement of accounts of WAEC from 2018 to 2024. The committee chairman, Oforji Oboku, also directed that they present relevant documents concerning a ₦5 billion loan obtained by WAEC in 2022 for the purchase of customized calculators, among other expenditures.
Oboku emphasized the need for WAEC to operate within the supervision of the National Assembly. “You are not different from any other agency. We are not here for a witch-hunt. WAEC is subject to Nigeria’s laws. We have reviewed the position and we have all the powers to oversight you. You cannot come here and say WAEC is not an agency of government,” he said.
The committee will schedule another session for the WAEC officials to address these issues.
