Students body accuses JAMB of extortion

The National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS) has accused the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) of extorting the ordinary Nigerians in an attempt to impress President Muhammadu Buhari.

NUNS resuscitated after the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), an umbrella body of students in the country splitted. The splinter group returned to the defunct National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS).

It would be recalled that NUNS was proscribed by the Federal Military Government under General Olusegun Obasanjo in April 1978 but was resuscitated at the weekend at Kaduna Polytechnic after the election of its national executives where Comrade Salaudeen Lukman, a student of Geology and Mineral Science from Kwara State University emerged the President of the revived union.

Lukman, shortly after his emergence as NUNS president vowed to checkmate what he described as extortion of the common masses by JAMB in a bid to impress President Buhari.

While he kicked against alleged exorbitant charges levied on admission seekers into higher institutions, he stated that JAMB was derailing from the change mantra of the President.

“JAMB is not a revenue generating agency, but an examination regulatory body, so why has it suddenly turned to an IGR agency just to impress someone who never sent them.

“The charges of N10,000 for registration, N3,000 for profile development levy and other charges is fraud and aimed at sabotaging the efforts of President Buhari who is working hard to make education affordable for all Nigerians,” he said.

In a swift reaction, the spokesperson of JAMB, Dr. Fabian Benjamin said the board is not extorting admission seekers into tertiary institutions of learning.

According to him, charges on admission seekers has remained the same over time, adding that government has not been funding activities of the board.

“Part of the money generated from sale of forms, change of higher institution and others are used to sustain the board while the remaining is remitted to the federal government’s account,” he explained.