Refund N7b or justify spending, SPAC tells NECO registrar

2021 NCEE now June 5
The Senate Committee on Public Accounts (SPAC) has asked the extant Registrar of Nigerian Examination Council (NECO), Professor Godswill Obioma, to refund N7 billion as penalty for his inability to provide evidence of spending on behalf of the Federal Government.

SPAC had repeatedly demanded the Store Receipt Vouchers (SRV) for the purchase of ‘sensitive materials’ to 2016 the examination in which the director and his team failed to present the document.

As Obioma insisted that he had the document, the SPAC Chairman, Matthew Urhoghide, demanded that he provided same to the committee within 24 hours or make refund to the Federal Government for breaking extant rule.

Astonished by the penalty, Obioma requested the committee to explain the penalty when he was not the officer as at the time of the spending.

Urhoghide said the indictment fell on the accounting officer, in this case, the professor, whose responsibility it was to produce the name of the officer at the time of spending the money without evidence.

MEANWHILE, NECO has rescheduled the 2021 National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) into Federal Unity Colleges to Saturday, June 5, 2021 as approved by the Federal Ministry of Education.

The examination, which was initially scheduled for Saturday, May 29, was rescheduled to give states with low registration of candidates the opportunity to register their candidates for the examination.

Head, Information and Public Relations Division, Azeez Sani, stated yesterday that all candidates, parents, guardians and relevant stakeholders were, therefore, enjoined to take note of the new date for the examination.

Registration of candidates will continue till the new date of the examination.

He added: “Candidates, parents and guardians are advised to download the new Examination Timetable from NECO website: www.neco.gov.ng.