Civil Society Coalition laud NECO, JAMB over anticorruption moves

By Chika Onyesi

A coalition of Civil Society Organizations, have hailed the National Examinations Council, NECO, and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, over their ant-icorruption drive.

According to a statement, Co-convener of the group Comrade Danesi Momoh, lauded the Acting Registrar of NECO, Mr. Abubakar Gana, for blocking all avenues through which NECO funds were looted. 

The group, under the aegis of Concerned Civil Society Groups for Educational Development, said Gana has made procurement processes more transparent with significant reduction in procurement costs.

"If there was any flicker of doubt about the fight against corruption by the Buhari led administration, the twin successes recorded in crushing corruption and financial wastages at NECO and JAMB dispels such doubts. 

"Surely, the government is out to ease the plight of all Nigerians and these model cases show us how the war against corruption can have a positive direct bearing on all citizens," the statement read.

According to the coalition, the feat was made possible by the prudent management of resources and transparency measures put in place in the agencies under the Ministry of Education by the minister, Mallam Adamu Adamu.

The CSOs further commended the federal government for reducing the NECO and JAMB fees, adding that the gesture would make higher education attractive for the common man.

"The exemplary novel steps taken by the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu in crippling corruption and putting a smile on the faces of Nigerians is indeed a model that should be replicated across all sectors," the statement noted.

It further recalled that the minister of Education strict supervision of agencies under his watch has resulted in the huge conservation of finances citing the resolve of the minister and the Board Chairman of the National Examination Council for taking the bull by the horn and dismissing the erstwhile NECO Registrar Prof. Charles Uwakwe and his cohorts who were alleged to be neck deep in a mire of corruption.