On Tuesday, the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Examination Bodies detained representatives of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) during a session at the National Assembly.
The officials detained were Amos Dangut, Head of National Office for WAEC Nigeria, representing the Registrar; Senior Deputy Registrar Angus Okeleze; Acting Director of Finance Victor Odu; and Deputy Director of Finance Segun Jerumeh.
The decision to detain the officials followed a motion by Committee member Hon. Uchenna Okonkwo during an investigative hearing. Dangut had asserted that WAEC was not a government agency and therefore not accountable to the parliament like other agencies, sparking a heated debate between the lawmakers and WAEC officials.
The lawmakers argued that WAEC Nigeria, being created by an Act of the National Assembly, must account for its activities to the parliament. They emphasized that WAEC’s convention requires compliance with the legislation of its member countries and noted that the National Assembly allocates funds for WAEC.
Hon. Okonkwo moved the motion to detain the WAEC officials, which was seconded by Hon. Marie Ebikake. This led to an uproar, with one WAEC official protesting the panel’s decision. The officials were detained by the Sergeant at Arms of the National Assembly for about 15 minutes.
Following a brief closed-door session, the committee resolved to release the officials but demanded they return with the relevant documents, including audited statements of accounts from 2018 to the present and documents related to a N5 billion loan WAEC obtained in 2022 for purchasing customized calculators.
Committee Chairman Hon. Oforji Oboku emphasized that WAEC cannot operate outside the supervision of the National Assembly. He stated, “You are not different from any other agency. We are not here to witch-hunt you. WAEC is subject to Nigeria’s laws. We have all the powers to oversight you. You cannot come here and say WAEC is not an agency of the government.”
(DailyPost)