by 
The
Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Sunday announced the
suspension of its employee, Philomina Chieshe, over the N36m which was
reported to have been swallowed by a snake in the board’s office in
Makurdi, Benue State.
This was disclosed by JAMB Head of Information, Fabian Benjamin, who told Punch Sunday that the board was taking her through other disciplinary measures while security agencies were investigating the matter.
“She
has been suspended and she is going through all other disciplinary
procedures while investigation is ongoing on the matter. Her claim was
that a snake came into the office and swallowed the N36m proceeds,” Benjamin said.
In a rather shocking turn, Chieshe had explained that a “mystery snake”
sneaked into JAMB accounts office and made away with the N36m cash
gathered from the purchases of scratch cards from JAMB state offices and
other designated centres.
While
addressing a team of auditors dispatched to different state offices of
JAMB to take inventory of sold and unsold scratch cards and recover the
generated money, Chieshe said she could not account for N36m made in the
previous years before the abolition of scratch cards.
But
in the course of interrogation, Chieshe changed the narrative, saying
that it was her housemaid who connived with another woman, Joan Asen, to
“spiritually steal the money” from the vault in the accounts office.
The
investigation follows a recommendation that the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission looked into the matter following a recommendation by
the Federal Executive Council late last year that JAMB should be
investigated.
This
comes after the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun said JAMB for the
first time remitted N5bn to the government’s coffers with a promise to
pay the balance of N3bn compared to maximum N3m remitted yearly in the
last 40 years.
Adeosun
had said the disparity in the remittances of agency in the past had
necessitated the decision to probe all previous heads of the two
agencies.
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