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By Tracy Moses
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), a faith-based human rights advocacy group, has condemned the recent call by the South East caucus of the House of Representatives and an academic union in the region demanding the resignation of the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede.
In a statement released on Friday and signed by its Founder and Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, MURIC described the demand as insensitive, irrational, and lacking patriotism.
The organisation urged Professor Oloyede to pay no attention to what it termed “unfounded attacks” from unlikely sources, including a branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the South East.
“These utterances from entrenched corrupt interests, political opportunists, pseudo-academics, and ethnic agitators do not deserve any serious response,” the statement read. “Calling for Oloyede’s resignation is not only unpatriotic but absurd.”
According to the statement, “The South East caucus in the House of Representatives this week demanded that the JAMB Registrar step down following technical hitches experienced during the 2025 UTME in certain parts of the country. In a similar vein, the ASUU chapter at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), on Thursday, threatened legal action against the examination body.”
MURIC, however, slammed these calls as narrow-minded and divisive. “Such moves reflect ethnic chauvinism and a lack of intellectual depth. Our lawmakers and academics must rise above sectional sentiment and pursue national interest,” the group insisted.
The organisation questioned the logic behind the calls for Oloyede’s resignation, asking why anyone would want to “destroy a man who has transformed JAMB from a drainpipe to a revenue-generating institution.”
MURIC highlighted Oloyede’s achievements, noting that the examination board has remitted over N50 billion to the Federal Government since he assumed office. “For example, JAMB paid N3.51 billion to the government in 2021 and an impressive N6 billion in 2024. Before Oloyede’s tenure, the agency had only returned N52 million in over 40 years,” the statement pointed out.
It added that Oloyede has done so well that JAMB no longer depends on federal allocations, relying instead on its internally generated revenue.
“Is this the man some lawmakers are asking to step down? Is this how Nigeria rewards integrity and performance? How many public agencies can boast of such transparency and accountability?” MURIC queried.
The statement concluded with a direct message to the embattled registrar: “Remain steadfast on your noble path. Pay no mind to the detractors and cynics whose goal is to tarnish your image to validate their own shortcomings. Your resignation would discourage others who look up to you as a role model. Keep up the good work. Aluta continua, Victoria ascerta.”