With the sudden death of Godswill Obioma, the immediate past Registrar of the National Examination Council (NECO), the examination body, since its creation in 1999, has been headed by six officials.
The council supervises and conducts the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination and the General Certificate in Education in June/July and November/December respectively. Mr Obioma, who had barely spent a year in office, was reported dead on Tuesday.
While a section of the media claims the professor of Education Measurement and Evaluation was assassinated, his family and officials at NECO said he died of a natural cause. Before his appointment, Mr Obioma who hails from Bende Local Government Area of Abia State was the Ebonyi State Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC.
POLITICS NIGERIA reviews the profile of the previous occupants of the office since 1999 and what has become of them after completing their tenures.
However, checks by this newspaper shows that three out of the six people who were either appointed as substantive Registrars or acted in the capacity, were at a time accused financial impropriety.
Dibu Ojerinde
Dibu Ojerinde, the first professor of Tests and Measurement in Nigeria, served as the first Registrar of the examination Council in 1999. Ojerinde’s eight-year tenure elapsed in 2007 after which he was appointed as Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, a position he held for 5 years (2007-2012) and was reappointed in 2012.
Meanwhile, as against the expiration of his tenure in 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari sacked him in 2016.
Many believed that the ousting of Mr Ojerinde is not unconnected to the 2016 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations, UTME, which was marred by irregularities bordering on result multiplicity, centre relocation and system failure. The board had adopted the Computer Based Test (CBT) method three years prior.
However, two years after he left office, allegations of financial impropriety while serving in NECO and JAMB surfaced.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in 2018, commenced full investigations into the financial flow of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to unearth alleged billions of naira fraud under Mr Ojerinde.
In March 2021, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) arrested a former Registrar for allegedly misappropriating N900 million.
The Commission said that Mr Ojerinde allegedly perpetrated the fraud as JAMB registrar from April 10, 2012 to August 1, 2016 and the Registrar of the National Examination Council (NECO) between 1999 and 2007.
Mr Ojerinde was arrested to answer questions on allegations of multiple identities, abuse of office, money laundering, tax evasion, making false statements, and awarding fraudulent contracts to untraceable shell companies.
While he is yet to be arraigned, the anti-corruption agency had isecured an interim forfeiture of properties traced to Mr Ojerinde including filling stations and schools.
Promise Okpala
Promise Okpala, a professor of Science Evaluation, succeeded Mr Ojerinde as NECO registrar in 2008. He bowed out of office in 2015 upon the expiration of the eight years tenure.
But barely two years into his assumption of office as the Registrar, Professor Okpala was accused of being a mastermind in a 5 billion naira fraud. He was reportedly petitioned by one Clement Innocent, a staff of the examination body. But the don denied the allegations in an interview with Vanguard.
“Let me start by stating that Mr. Clement Obinna Innocent is not a staff of the National Examinations Council (NECO) as no staff of the Council goes by that name. The staff disposition of the Council is there for anybody to see and verify.”
“The accusation of fraud to the tune of five billion (N5 billion) naira is in its entirety false, misleading and a calculated attempt to cause mischief.”
“The fact is that there has never been any fraud in NECO since I assumed duty. This is because the Council accounts are audited annually by the Auditor General Office and if there had been any fraud, this would have been published,” he said.
Monday Joshua
Briefly after Mr Okpala bowed out office, Prof. Monday Tommy Joshua took over as the registrar of the National Examinations Council. Mr Joshua spent 50 days in office before he was replaced by another person.
Joshua was a Professor of Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation in the Faculty of Education of the University of Calabar. He hails from Afasha Nsit II of Nsit Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa-Ibom State.
Charles Ukakwe
Charles Ukawe, is the first NECO registrar that was suspended in the history of the council before he was later dismissed in 2020. He got into in 2016. But two years into office, Mr Uwakwe bagged an indefinite suspension over alleged financial mismanagement and abuse of office.
Uwakwe was accused of violating the Public Procurement Act (2007) while in office.
“After due consideration of the investigative panel on the allegation of unsatisfactory conduct levelled against you and some management staff of the council, Mr President in the exercise of his powers has approved your removal as the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of National Examinations Council with effect from the date of your suspension from duty,” the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Education, Sunny Echono, said, announcing the dismissal of Mr Ukawe.
Abubakar Gana
Since Mr Uwakwe’s suspension, Abubakar Gana was the Acting Registrar until a substantive Registrar was appointed in May 2020.
According to the document published by SaharaReporters, Mr Gana connived with some senior officials of NECO to divert about N368m generated by the council from the 2018 June/July SSCE registration fees between June and December 2018.
But he later debunked allegations that he siphoned money from the council during his tenure.
Godswill Obioma
President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Professor Godswill Obioma, as the new Registrar/Chief Executive officer of the examination body in May 2020.
Mr Obioma, a native of Amaokpu, Nkpa, Bende Local Government Area, Abia State, died on Tuesday.
It is expected that the President will appoint a new Registrar in coming days.
