The House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies has said that it would not allow ministries or agencies to intimidate or show disrespect to the parliament.

It added that the lawmakers would continue to act in line with Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution as amended which gives it power to carry out oversight functions on ministries and agencies.

The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Oboku Oforji, stated this yesterday when the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) appeared at the Committee’s sitting to submit documents requested by the committee.

Oforji explained that the investigation was sequel to a resolution of the House on a motion of urgent public importance on May 15, 2025.

He said based on the resolution, the House seeks to address the crisis faced during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) examination conducted by JAMB and suggested that at least one Computer-Based Testing (CBT) Centre be constructed in each of the 774 local government areas across the country to prevent what occurred during the examinations.

The chairman expressed displeasure with the conduct of the representative of the JAMB Registrar, Morouf Bello, at their last meeting.

He warned that the committee will not condone any act of disrespect from any agency of government or its officials citing the recent incident involving the committee and the JAMB’S official.

Oforji said, “In view of this, the committee will hear from JAMB on all these and on how the implementation and performance of the agency’s budget/Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from 2023 to date were carried out in compliance with existing laws, evidence of the remittances made to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), as well as the Board’s bank statement of account from 2023 to date.

“It is important to clarify to my esteemed colleagues, the agency, and the general public that this committee is not engaging in any form of witch-hunt against our agencies.

“We encourage all agencies to fully cooperate fully by responding to any requests for documents or information and to participate in briefings with the Committee. This cooperation is crucial for us to carry out our duties effectively as a parliament.”

“We condemn the action of the Board’s officials led by Mr. Muftau Bello, Director in the office of the Registrar, on the 29th of October 2025 who were only asked to introduce themselves but rather staged a walkout.

“We will not allow ministries or agencies intimidate or show disrespect to the Parliament. Parliamentarians will continue to act in line with Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution as amended which gives it power to carry out oversight functions on Ministries and Agencies.”

The chairman acknowledged the receipt of the documents brought by JAMB assuring that the committee will examine them and get back to the agency.

Also speaking, the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, apologised for the incident involving one of the agency’s official who represented him at one of the committee’s sittings earlier.

He said that as somebody who served the country at various places and capacity, he has enormous respect for authorities, especially the Parliament and would not do or allow anything that will undermine its authority, disrespect or ignore its directives.

Oloyede, added that all the documents requested by the committee had been submitted. (THISDAY)