Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Acting Registrar of the National Examinations Council (NECO), Abubakar Gana, has confirmed that the Council returned about N1 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Account of the Federation as operational surplus from its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
He said the reforms initiated by the Council, as well as transparency and accountability in its official dealings, led to the operational surplus that was returned to the Federal Government.
The NECO boss disclosed this when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Basic Education, for NECO’s 2019 budget defence. He also said the Council has managed its resources prudently and might soon depend less on allocation from the Federation Account but solicited the support of the lawmakers to achieve the feat.
The NECO Registrar expressed his desire to expedite action on the reforms being carried out in NECO, assuring the lawmakers that 2019 budget of the agency will be judiciously implemented.
Meanwhile, Committee Chairman, Aliyu Wamako, on behalf of other members, commended NECO leadership for effective deployment and utilisation of resources allocated to it for conduct of examinations across Nigeria.
He confirmed that NECO leadership returned unused Overhead Allocations in its 2018 budget into the Consolidated Revenue Account.