Reps order detention of WAEC officials for lack of accountability

Four officials of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) were on Wednesday detained over their inability to answer questions raised by the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Examination Bodies, during an investigative hearing.

This followed a motion by a member of the committee, Rep.Uchenna Okonkwo, during the hearing in Abuja.

The committee was piqued that the officials failed to answer their questions bothering on accountability to its satisfaction.

The officials are, Amos Josiah Dangut, Head of National Office, WAEC Nigeria, who represented the Registrar; Angus Okeleze, Senior Deputy Registrar; Victor Odu, Acting Director of Finance and Segun Jerumeh, Deputy Director of Finance.

The lawmakers, during the hearing, were engaged in a heated argument with the WAEC officials about whether the examination body was accountable to the parliament or not.

Dangut had earlier in his presentation to the committee posited that WAEC was not an agency of government and, therefore not accountable to the parliament.

However, the lawmakers insisted that WAEC Nigeria was a creation of an Act of the National Assembly and, hence should account for all its activities to them. They pointed out that the National Assembly makes appropriations for WAEC.

The lawmakers also pointed out that WAEC’s convention dictates that it must submit to the legislation of any of its member countries.

Following the arguments, Okonkwo moved, “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.

“They should be held at the police post while we seek solutions for these issues they are bringing upon Nigerians.” The motion was seconded by Rep. Marie Ebikake.

One of the WAEC officials kept shouting at the panel that it was being unfair to them. The officials were taken away by members of the Sergeant at Arms of the National Assembly where they were detained in one of the offices for about 15 minutes.

However, after a brief closed-door session, the committee resolved to allow them to go and return on a later date with the relevant documents demanded from them.

Rep. Oforji Oboku, the Committee Chairman of the committee, said they must bring the audited statement of accounts of the examinations body from 2018 to 2024.

He also directed that they should present relevant documents concerning a ₦5 billion loan that WAEC accessed in 2022 to buy a custom-made calculator among others.

The chairman said WAEC could not operate outside the supervision of the National Assembly.

“You are not different from any other agency by saying you are not an agency of government. We are not here to witch-hunt you. 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.

He said WAEC would be invited at a later date, insisting that failure to produce the required documents would attract sanctions.