South-East lawmakers suspect foul play, demand JAMB registrar’s immediate resignation

The South-East Caucus in the House of Representatives has called for the resignation of Professor Ishaq Oloyede, Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and a cancellation of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) following what they describe as a “catastrophic institutional failure” in the conduct of the 2025 UTME. The caucus said a new UTME for 2025 should be conducted between July and August.

The demand, made on Monday, May 19, 2025, comes amid widespread criticism of JAMB’s handling of technical glitches that affected nearly 380,000 candidates, mostly from the Southeastern region. The caucus’s position echoes a similar stance by the South-East Senate Caucus, which earlier accused JAMB of undermining national unity through “hateful politics” and “narrow parochial considerations”.

In a statement signed by Honourable Igariwey Enwo, the House caucus expressed deep concern over the impact of the glitches, particularly in the five South-Eastern states they represent (Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo.)

“Last week, particularly on May 14, 2025, the Registrar of JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, publicly admitted that due to a ‘technical glitch’ at some examination centres during the 2025 UTME, about 379,997 out of 1.9 million candidates would be required to retake the exam,” the statement read. The lawmakers noted that all five South-Eastern states were directly affected by what JAMB termed “score distortions”, raising questions about fairness and equity in the examination process.

The caucus criticised JAMB’s response as inadequate, pointing to the rushed rescheduling of exams as a “knee-jerk, fire-brigade approach”.

Students in the South-East, many of whom were already writing their West African Examinations Council (WAEC) exams, were given less than 48 hours’ notice to appear for the rescheduled UTME, leading to low turnout. In some cases, the rescheduled exams clashed directly with ongoing WAEC papers, compounding distress for students and their families.

“JAMB’s remedial steps fall drastically short of our constituents’ expectations,” the statement added, highlighting the severe erosion of public trust in the examination body.

The lawmakers invoked Section 18(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates the government to ensure “equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels”, arguing that JAMB’s failure violated this constitutional obligation.

“Recent judicial rulings now make this an enforceable right for every Nigerian child. Sadly, for thousands of students in the South-East, the flawed and tainted conduct of the 2025 UTME has effectively denied them that right,” the caucus stated.

They called for Oloyede’s resignation to allow for a thorough investigation into the root causes of what they described as a “national shame”.

South-East Senators not satisfied with JAMB registrars remedial steps

The South-East Senate Caucus had earlier raised similar concerns in a statement issued on May 17, 2025, signed by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (APGA, Abia South). The senators described the technical disruption, which affected centres across the South-East and parts of Lagos, as “curious and suspicious”, suggesting a possible conspiracy to “deliberately shortchange and harm the future of our children.” 

Abaribe’s statement urged national education bodies to avoid injecting “hateful politics” into policy formulation, warning that such actions could deepen regional distrust and undermine national unity.

“That the glitch occurred across the entire South-East raises pertinent questions that JAMB must answer to assuage the growing frustrations and fears among our people,” the senators noted.

JAMB’s Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, addressed the issue on May 14, 2025, at the Board’s National Headquarters in Bwari, Abuja, admitting that technical errors had affected some candidates’ scores. He announced that the 379,997 affected candidates, spread across 157 out of 882 examination centres, would retake their exams starting May 16, 2025. Candidates were to be notified via text messages, emails, and phone calls and directed to reprint their examination slips for the rescheduled dates. However, the South-East lawmakers argue that this remediation was insufficient, particularly given the timing conflicts with WAEC exams.

The controversy has reignited debates about systemic bias in Nigeria’s education sector, with the South-East caucuses calling for greater accountability. Education stakeholders have also weighed in, with some citing a 2023 UNESCO report that highlighted Nigeria’s education system as one of the most challenged in West Africa, with over 20 million children out of school and frequent disruptions in examination processes. The 2025 UTME glitch marks another setback, potentially affecting the academic trajectory of thousands of students vying for limited university admission slots.

As of press time, JAMB has not issued an official response to the lawmakers’ demands, but the pressure on Oloyede continues to pile up. The incident underscores the urgent need for reforms in Nigeria’s examination system, with many hoping it will prompt a broader conversation about equity and fairness in education. For now, South-East students and families await further action, as the fallout from the 2025 UTME threatens to cast a long shadow over their academic futures.