The House of Representatives on Tuesday mandated its committee on basic education and examination bodies to urgently investigate the National Examinations Council (NECO) over alleged unauthorized virements, poor budget implementation, as well as non transparent management of internally generated revenue (IGR) from 2023 till date.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by Amobi Godwin Ogah during plenary.
In his lead debate for the motion, the lawmaker expressed deep concern that NECO may have implemented virements without the mandatory legislative approval warning that such illegality when proven beyond reasonable doubt constitutes nothing but gross violation of the 1999 Constitution, as well as undermines the oversight powers of the National Assembly as a legislative body.
He further noted that NECO, being one of the revenue generating agency of government, is duty-bound to account for its financial activities which includes all remittances to the federation account.
Consequently, the federal lawmaker also emphasized the need for the National Assembly to have full access to NECO’s budget performance reports and IGR records including bank statements from 2023 to date inorder to ensure transparency and accountability in all process.
Ogah equally argued that financial irregularities within examination bodies could negatively affect the education sector and erode public confidence in national examination systems. He urged the House to act swiftly to protect the integrity of NECO and uphold the rule of law in all its practices.
While adopting the motion, the House ordered its committee on basic education and examination bodies to immediately conduct a comprehensive investigation into NECO’s financial activities and report back to the parliament within three weeks for further legislative action.
