Nigeria's examination body expects to rake in N23.8 billion from its operations in 2026, with N6 billion of that sum earmarked for transfer to the federation account as surplus.

The figures emerged on Wednesday when Muftau Bello, a director at JAMB, presented the board's spending plan to the Senate Committee on tertiary institutions and TETFund. He appeared in place of the Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede.

JAMB's total budget proposal for the year stands at N30.6 billion. The bulk of this, N23.8 billion, will come from internal sources, while the remainder will be drawn from other channels. After operations are funded, the board intends to send N6 billion back to the federation account.

"A total of N30.6 billion budget profile is proposed by JAMB in 2026, out of which N23.8 billion is to be generated internally and N6 billion to be remitted into the federation account as operating surplus for the year," Bello stated.

He revealed that the board brought in N18.5 billion last year and handed over N4 billion to the federation account.

Bello also used the session to announce a major infrastructure push. JAMB will run 1,000 examination centres in 2026, up from fewer than 800 the previous year. The move is meant to ease crowding and give more candidates smoother access during both registration and examination.

Committee chairman Muntari Dandutse, senator for Katsina South, praised the board's financial discipline and operational record under Prof. Oloyede. But his colleague, Senator Amos Yohanna from Adamawa North, pushed for a cut in the N3,500 examination fee, arguing it remains a burden for many families, so Bello had to explain that the fee once stood at N5,000 before the current registrar brought it down.