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By Myke Agunwa
The shadow government, established by Political Economist Prof. Pat Utomi has called for the sack and subsequent probe of Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Registrar Prof. Is-haq Oloyede over the recent technical glitches that led to mass failure of students in the 2025 examination.
Utomi in a terse statement via his X handle, demanded that the JAMB boss should be sanctioned for the grief, pain and anxiety he caused parents and students due to the technical glitches that marred the just conducted examination.
“The opposition front bench, sometimes called shadow cabinet or shadow champions call for sack of those who have caused severe grief to young people who worked so hard to test well at JAMB, with some committing suicide from gravity of negligence. Instant probe and penalties needed” he wrote.
The JAMB boss has been under fire lately, following the mass failure of students from the recent examination conducted by the body as a result of what the JAMB boss described as “technical glitches.” Some students and teachers were also reported missing as they left their house in the early hours of the day to get to their destination, which is very far from their residence.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) acknowledged that technical glitches affected 157 out of 887 examination centers nationwide. These issues, including system failures and biometric verification problems, disrupted the examination process for many candidates.
Though he owned up responsibility for the glitches and rescheduled May 16 for candidates in Lagos and the Southeast to retake the examinations, many parents are still threatening legal action against the examination body.
The technical problems led to a surge in complaints, with over 8,000 candidates filing grievances. Some are pursuing legal action against JAMB, demanding transparency in the marking process and a review of their scores. JAMB has initiated a comprehensive review of its examination systems, collaborating with IT experts to identify and rectify the issues.
This is not the first time JAMB has faced scrutiny over UTME results. In 2024, a staggering 77% of candidates scored below 200 out of 400, raising concerns about the examination’s integrity and the education system’s effectiveness. Stakeholders attributed the poor performance to various factors, including technical glitches and inadequate preparation.
The recurring issues highlight the need for systemic reforms to ensure fair and reliable assessment processes for Nigerian stude