A House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee has commenced an investigation into the “secret” recruitment of 300 staff by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

At an investigative hearing held yesterday, August 14, JAMB Register, Prof Ishaq Oloyede said they carried out the recruitment exercise after obtaining a waiver from the Federal Character Commission (FCC) due to the exigencies and urgency at the time.

Oloyede said; “If we were to advertise for the 300 slots, we would not be able to meet what we needed them for. I call your attention to the letter we wrote to the agency (FCC). That was the period we had about 12 to 13 centres coming on board and we needed to man them.”

Reacting to this, Chairman of the panel, Yusuf Adamu Gagdi said waivers were being abused and being used to deny qualified Nigerians opportunities to get jobs.

He said; “Why did you choose to apply for a waiver when you are recruiting 300 and the law says only if the number is below 100? Why did you use a waiver for the recruitment of over 300 staff?

“You employed 300 staff without advertisement. That is against the law. It short-changed millions of Nigerians that should be given equal opportunity in terms of the employment process.”