The House of Representatives has ordered a full-scale investigation into the financial activities of the National Examination Council (NECO) over alleged illegal virements, questionable budget implementation, and possible mismanagement of its internally generated revenue (IGR) between 2023 and 2025.
This followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved on Thursday during plenary by Hon. Amobi Godwin Ogah, who raised alarm over what he described as troubling signs of fiscal indiscipline and possible constitutional breaches within the agency.
Presenting the motion, Ogah reminded his colleagues that under Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the National Assembly has full powers to summon or demand documents from any government ministry, department, or agency to ensure transparency and accountability.
He noted that as a revenue-generating body, NECO has a duty to operate with strict financial discipline and must be fully transparent about its income, expenditures, and remittances to the Federation Account.
According to Ogah, there were strong indications that NECO may have conducted unauthorised virements — the transfer of funds from one budget line to another — without the approval of the National Assembly, which he described as a grave violation of the law.
“If NECO has indeed carried out virements without the approval of the National Assembly, it represents a clear violation of the law and undermines the fiscal accountability mechanisms established by the legislature,” Ogah stated.
He further explained that the oversight powers of the House require full access to NECO’s financial records to ensure compliance with the law.
“Aware that in carrying out its mandate effectively, the National Assembly or the relevant committee must have access to the NECO’s budget/IGR performance and implementation from 2023 to date. It must also peruse NECO’s bank statements of account from 2023 to date. NECO must also provide evidence of remittance to the federation account for the same period (2023 to date),” Ogah said.
He insisted that any act of unilateral fund movement by the examination body without legislative consent would constitute “a flagrant violation of our constitution and an affront to the inherent powers of this Honourable House.”
Following deliberations on the motion, the House resolved to mandate its Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies to conduct a detailed inquiry into NECO’s financial operations, focusing on its budget implementation, revenue generation, and remittances from 2023 to 2025.
The committee was directed to report back within three weeks with its findings and recommendations for further legislative action.
Lawmakers stressed that the probe was necessary not only to uphold constitutional accountability but also to preserve public trust in one of Nigeria’s key education institutions.
