By Admin
The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has shrugged off calls for his resignation, following glitches that marred the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and his acceptance of responsibility.
The development came a day after the South-East Caucus of the House of Representatives called for his resignation over the disrupted exercise.
Oloyede also dismissed speculations that the technical glitch was part of a conspiracy against some parts of the country.
This was even as the examination body reacted to the tragic news of a 19-year-old candidate, Opesusi Timilehin, who committed suicide due to frustration over her low scores in the examination.
Speaking at the opening session of a meeting with JAMB’s Chief External Examiners across the country and civil society organisations in Abuja, yesterday, the registrar expressed sadness at the unfortunate news.
The Guardian reports that Opesusi, who resided in Lagos, had intended to study Microbiology at the university. She scored 146 and took her own life.
In an emotional briefing last week, Oloyede admitted server and human error, while rescheduling the exercise for 379,997 candidates in Lagos and the five South East states.
Addressing reporters prior to the commencement of the meeting at its headquarters in Abuja, Oloyede shrugged off calls for his resignation. According to him, students would be disappointed if they threw in the towel after taking responsibility for the “technical glitches” that marred the exercise in some parts of the country.
“When this happened, my first reaction was to resign. But people advised me that the students would never forgive me because it would look like I abandoned them at a time (like this),” he said.
He expressed disappointment that some individuals ignorant of JAMB’s operations were publicly criticising the board.
He stressed his commitment to accountability, citing his track record in educational advancement and examination conduct.
Oloyede, who called for a moment of silence to honour the deceased teenager, expressed concern that some parents/guardians faked the deaths of their children/wards to gain public sympathy.
He also announced that mop-up exams would be conducted for candidates, who were genuinely unable to take the initial one. During the 2025 UTME in April, candidates complained of being unable to sit for the exam due to the distance to their centres.
Recall that the technical glitch affected Lagos and the five states of the South-East geo-political zone, with many alleging that the board deliberately compromised the results of South-East candidates.
Oloyede dismissed the speculations at a meeting with the management of the board, yesterday, ahead of the release of results of the rescheduled UTME examination.
Following protests against the record abysmal performance of candidates – with more than 78 percent of candidates scoring less than 200 of the maximum 400 points obtainable, JAMB conducted a resit from May 16 and extending beyond May 19.
At JAMB’s office in Abuja, Oloyede said about 95 per cent of those marked for the resit UTME in Lagos and the South-East participated. To accommodate the estimated 5.6 per cent of candidates who missed it, he said JAMB is organising a special mop-up exercise. Oloyede said all candidates, who missed the examination initially, would be allowed to retake it, regardless of their reason for absence.
