Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede, has rejected demands by critics for his resignation following challenges during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Speaking on Wednesday during a meeting with key stakeholders, including chief external examiners and civil society organisations, in Abuja, Oloyede dismissed the calls for his resignation, stating that those criticising his leadership lack the competence to question his stewardship.
“Truck pushers cannot direct pilots,” he said, in reference to critics whom he believed were unqualified to advise on matters of education.
In a related development, JAMB announced it will conduct another mop-up examination for candidates who missed their just-concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Oloyede acknowledged the emotional strain experienced while announcing the UTME results but clarified that it was not indicative of institutional weakness. He stressed that JAMB remained committed to resolving issues affecting the examination process. He also rejected any suggestion that administrative failures were due to incompetence or ethnic bias.
Oloyede stated, “JAMB will conduct a special mop-up examination for candidates who missed the 2025 UTME for genuine reasons, covering approximately 5.6 per cent of total candidates.
“We are creating a new mop-up. Even those who missed the earlier exam due to absence will be given another opportunity. It’s not extraordinary. In any academic setting, makeup exams are normal.”
Oloyede’s remarks followed demands for his resignation, particularly from the South-east Caucus of the House of Representatives, following controversies that trailed this year’s UTME.
He emphasised that JAMB was committed to inclusiveness and fairness in the exam process and reassured stakeholders that the mop-up will ensure no candidate was unjustly left out.
He said, “People say, ‘Where is he from?’ That never mattered to me. I’ve worked with people based on their competence, not their ethnicity. The idea that this is a conspiracy is baseless.”
He added that many public reactions were fuelled by ignorance and misinformation, calling on stakeholders and the media to stop politicising educational issues.
Oloyede also reminded the public that UTME was a placement test, not a measure of intelligence.
“UTME ranks candidates for available spaces in tertiary institutions. It is not the final measure of a student’s intelligence or future,” he said.
He stressed that university admissions took into account multiple criteria, including post-UTME scores and institutional assessments.
The registrar spoke emotionally about the suicide of a 19-year-old candidate, Opesusi Timilehin, over low UTME scores and called for a minute of silence in her honour during the meeting.
“That tragedy broke all of us. Unfortunately, there were also false reports – some parents called me pretending their children had died, only to ask for money later,” Oloyede claimed.
He revealed he initially considered resigning over the incident but was persuaded to stay the course by those who believed the candidates needed his continued leadership.
Oloyede explained, “When this happened, my first reaction was to resign. But people advised me that the students will never forgive you – it would appear as though you abandoned them in their moment of need.”
While many expected the results of the rescheduled UTME to be released on Wednesday, Oloyede was silent on the issue during the meeting.
However, JAMB spokesperson Dr. Fabian Benjamin, assured that the results will be released shortly via an official press statement.
Oloyede concluded the session by expressing gratitude to stakeholders and reaffirming his commitment to accountability, transparency, and fairness in the conduct of JAMB’s duties.
“Let us not descend to the level of opportunists exploiting challenges for personal or political gain. We will fix what went wrong and continue to build an examination system Nigeria can be proud of,” he said.
The JAMB registrar added, “But when things started happening and people are saying, ‘Which one is you?’ which is unfortunate because you need not look at where you come from. But I never knew, because I knew him as a human being who was performing his services. So please, let us not descend to the level of those people who are out there.
“I say it for the fourth time that no conspiracy theory is relevant to this case. There is nothing to say north, south, or that you buy more outside. Something happened like people who have been doing something well for years and something just went wrong. I did not throw them under the bus. No.”
He further urged stakeholders to stop ethnic profiling of education and criticised those who exploit difficulties to promote ethnic or conspiracy-driven narratives. He asserted that many criticisms of JAMB’s operations were rooted in ignorance.
The registrar commended his team’s efforts and stressed that JAMB did not discriminate based on background or ethnicity.
Kuni Tyessi
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