By Secrets Reporters
Behind the certificates that open doors to higher education and employment for millions of Nigerian students lies a financial trail in which more than ₦5.8 billion was flagged across seven findings in the 2024 financial records of the National Examinations Council (NECO).
A review of the Council’s 2024 financial year records identified irregularities totalling ₦5,799,197,267.02, with the findings covering the handling of previous-year liabilities, outstanding examination fees, ICT procurement, payments without supporting documents, foreign-currency transactions, and store items.
One of the largest findings involved ₦2,637,467,432.10 used to settle liabilities from previous years with funds allocated for the 2024 financial year. The expenditure contravenes the Financial Regulations 2009, which require expenditure to be charged to the appropriate fiscal year’s allocation, thereby making the use of current-year funds to settle prior-year obligations a breach of the applicable financial rules.
Similarly, ₦2,109,921,272.00 in NECO fee arrears remained outstanding from defaulting state governments and other philanthropic contributors. The failure to collect the outstanding revenue is contrary to the revenue-collection requirements under the Financial Regulations 2009, which place responsibility on government agencies to account for and collect revenues due to them.
Additionally, the records showed that ₦409,944,582.00 was spent on the procurement of ICT facilities without the mandatory clearance from the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). The expenditure contravenes the NITDA Act and the applicable government requirements for ICT procurement, which require the prescribed clearance for government ICT projects and procurements.
Moreso, ₦367,809,834.00 was paid without relevant supporting documents. The payment breaches the financial control requirements under the Financial Regulations 2009, which require government expenditure to be supported by appropriate documentation and vouchers establishing the validity of the transactions.
Furthermore, ₦142,829,711.92 in paid vouchers were not presented for examination. The failure to produce the vouchers contravenes the record-keeping and accountability provisions of the Financial Regulations 2009, which require accounting records and supporting documents to be maintained and made available for official examination.
Another finding involved ₦86,544,835.00, equivalent to US$56,381, transferred from NECO’s United States dollar revenue account without substantiation. The transaction contravenes Paragraph 213(i) of the Financial Regulations 2009, which governs the proper handling and accounting for government revenue accounts and requires transactions to be adequately supported and accounted for.
Similarly, ₦44,679,600.00 was paid for store items without evidence that the items were delivered. The expenditure contravenes the provisions of the Financial Regulations 2009 governing stores, verification and payment for goods, which require evidence of receipt and verification before government funds are disbursed for supplied items.
The 2024 findings cover the period during which Professor Ibrahim Dantani Wushishi served as NECO’s Registrar and Chief Executive, a position he assumed in July 2021. President Bola Tinubu retained Wushishi in the position in April 2026, alongside the appointment of Professor Modupe Adeola Adelabu as Chairman of NECO’s Governing Board.
As Registrar and Chief Executive, Wushishi served as the Council’s chief accounting officer during the period covered by the findings, with responsibility for the administration and financial management of the Council in accordance with applicable public financial regulations.
The outstanding examination-fee arrears also extend a financial issue that Wushishi had previously addressed publicly. In 2022, he called on indebted state governments to settle their NECO fee arrears, which at the time were reported to have exceeded ₦2 billion. The 2024 financial records, however, show that outstanding arrears of ₦2.109 billion remained unresolved.
