Members of the House of Representatives from the Southeast have demanded the resignation of Ishq Oloyede, Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), due to the institution’s failure in the conduct of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Igariwey Enwo, the leader of the caucus and lawmaker representing Afikpo North/Afikpo South Federal Constituency, criticised the JAMB for the technical errors that affected about 380,000 candidates in its examination.
In a statement issued on Monday, the caucus said the Board’s response has been grossly inadequate.
It also lamented about the poor communication, scheduling conflicts with ongoing WAEC examinations, and the short notice given for the resit.
It called for the immediate cancellation of the 2025 UTME and the fixing of a new date, preferably after WAEC and NECO exams, to ensure no student is disadvantaged.
The statement also demanded that key officials responsible for JAMB’s digital operations and logistics should be suspended.
According to the statement, “Over the past week, we have exercised restraint, hoping that JAMB would provide effective remedial measures to address what is clearly a catastrophic institutional failure—one that has severely shaken public trust and the confidence of students and their families nationwide.
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“As a caucus, we are deeply concerned, as all five Southeastern states we represent were directly affected by these so-called ‘score distortions.
“While we acknowledge Professor Oloyede’s openness in admitting JAMB’s failures, we must state unequivocally that the remedial steps taken so far fall drastically short of our constituents’ expectations.
“JAMB’s knee-jerk, fire-brigade approach has been anything but adequate. Students in the South East—many of whom are currently writing their WAEC examinations—were given less than 48 hours’ notice to appear for the rescheduled UTME.
“Reports indicate that this notice was grossly inadequate, resulting in low turnout. In some cases, the rescheduled UTME clashed directly with ongoing WAEC papers, compounding the distress and confusion for students and their families.”
The lawmakers maintained that accountability must go beyond apologies, saying, “his resignation would allow for a thorough, independent review of the failure and restore public confidence in the examination body.”
