The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on Thursday called for the resignation of the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Ishaq Oloyede, following the admittance by the examination body that the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) was marred with errors.
NANS, in a statement made by its National Public Relations Officer, Samson Adeyemi, described the blunders as a “damning indictment of the institution’s incompetence”.
Chronicle NG reports that during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, Oloyede burst into tears while apologetic for the UTME results anomalies.
Reacting to the JAMB authority’s admission, Adeyemi emphasised that JAMB’s neglect has caused incalculable psychological distress to the affected students, citing a suicide case involving a student in the Ikorodu region of Lagos State over her UTME score.
While declaring that the impacted students would retake the examinations, Oloyede accepted full responsibility for the staff’s incompetence that resulted in the inaccuracies.
He said, “The National Association of Nigerian Students is outraged by the unforgivable negligence of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, which has resulted in widespread despair among Nigerian students and, most tragically, the loss of a promising young life in Lagos.
“JAMB’s admission of errors in the released UTME results, particularly in Lagos and five South East states, is a damning indictment of the institution’s incompetence.
“This catastrophic failure has shattered the dreams of countless students, subjected them to untold psychological distress, and, in this case, driven a young scholar to the ultimate despair.
“This is not just an administrative lapse; it is an institutional disgrace.”
NANS consequently requested that the JAMB boss resign and that compensation be made to the family of the dead student.
“Prof. Ishaq Oloyede must resign without delay. The leadership that presided over this disaster cannot continue to administer an examination body that holds the future of Nigerian students in its hands.
“JAMB must bear responsibility for the irreversible damage it has caused and provide financial, psychological, and legal support to the grieving family.
“While JAMB has announced a rescheduled UTME for 379,997 students, NANS demands absolute transparency and integrity in this process.
“We will not tolerate further incompetence,” Adeyemi stated.
He finished by encouraging the federal government to implement measures to prevent such errors from occurring again.