Concerned Civil Society Organisations for Educational Development in Nigeria (CCSOED), have called for the immediate removal of the Chairman, House Committee on Basic Examinations, Hon. Oboku Oforji, over what it described as allegations of intimidation and extortion of funds from Nigeria’s examination bodies.
The organisations made the demand at a joint news conference in Abuja on Wednesday.
Speaking on behalf of the groups, the Convener of the Social Transparency and Youth Leadership Advancement Initiative, Okpanachi Jacob, said their attention had been drawn to what they described as corrupt activities by Hon. Oforji, which they claimed undermine the progress made by examination bodies in recent years.
They warned that such acts of intimidation and continuous extortion are unacceptable to both the civil society community and the Nigerian public.
Other representatives of the society included Comrade Friday James of the African Poverty Alleviation Initiative; Comrade Tabuko Kennedy of the Coalition of Civil Society Groups and Comrade Yomi Davis of the Transparency Advocacy for Development Initiative.
Others are Comrade Felix Nnalue Attah, President of the Humanitarian, Welfare and Social Development Initiative; and Hajia Memuna Usman of the Advocacy for Women Empowerment in Nigeria.
The groupsl said Oforji allegedly used his position to intimidate the heads of examination bodies such as JAMB, WAEC, NECO, and NABTEB, demanding funds purportedly for collective committee use, while allegedly diverting some for personal benefit.
They further accused him of irregularities in the engagement of consultants.
The groups also raised questions about N62,700,000 reportedly paid into the committee account, as well as the partial refund of N43,000,000, which civil society insisted required further investigation to ensure transparency in public spending.
“He is alleged to have written letters to the CBN and the AGF demanding statements of account from examination bodies, which he uses as a tool for blackmailing CEOs who do not succumb to his demands.
“It is also observed that, due to his totalitarian nature, there is no coherence in his committee, as members have not been carried along.
“We call on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, to remove Oforji as Chairman of the House Committee on Basic Examinations and refer him for a thorough investigation by the House Committee on Ethics as a matter of urgent national importance.
“Failure to remove him and subject him to proper investigation will lead to a national protest at the National Assembly to demand a comprehensive inquiry into his activities in the House,” the group said.
The groups also alleged that Hon. Oforji requested statements of account from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Attorney-General of the Federation concerning examination bodies, reportedly using the information to pressure CEOs who refused to comply with his demands.
“For the purpose of achieving an independent and successful examination system in Nigeria, we demand that the leadership of the House appoint a member with integrity and an understanding of examinations to chair this important committee responsible for assessing Nigerian children.
“While we commend our examination bodies for the good work they are doing in the face of limited funds, our examination bodies remain the tool for measuring the knowledge acquisition and assimilation of our students.
“Thus, they must be devoid of any form of interference from individuals or groups,” they added.
