The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that 379,997 candidates will retake the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) across six states following a major technical error.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, made the disclosure during a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, where he accepted full responsibility for the widespread issues that marred the conduct of the examination.
In an emotional address, Oloyede, visibly overwhelmed and tearful, apologised to affected candidates and their families. He explained that the glitch originated from a service provider’s failure to correctly implement a software update, affecting 157 centres — 65 in Lagos and 92 across the South-East.
“As the Registrar of JAMB, I take full responsibility for the error, including the negligence of the service provider involved. We sincerely apologise for the trauma and confusion caused,” Oloyede said.
Background
Following the release of the 2025 UTME results, over 1.5 million out of 1.95 million candidates scored below 200 — a result that triggered public outcry and widespread allegations of technical faults and poor exam management.
JAMB confirmed that there were anomalies in question shuffling in the LAG operations group (which includes Lagos, the South-East, and select northern states). Although the board attempted to rectify the issue during the exams, the fix failed in some locations, leading to flawed scores.
“The error was not due to sabotage or hacking. Rather, it was a human error caused by the failure to update all delivery servers in Lagos and Owerri zones,” Oloyede clarified.
Affected States
The six states where the rescheduled exams will take place are:
- Lagos
- Imo
- Anambra
- Enugu
- Abia
- Ebonyi
Resit Begins May 16
All affected candidates will retake the exam beginning Friday, May 16, 2025. JAMB stated that they will be contacted through:
- SMS to registered phone numbers
- Emails
- JAMB profile notifications
- Direct phone calls
Candidates will be required to reprint their examination slips for updated details on venues and time slots.
JAMB also confirmed that it had coordinated with WAEC to avoid clashes with the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
“We’ve worked with WAEC to accommodate UTME candidates within their schedule. Any student affected by a clash, particularly those with Agricultural Science on Friday, will be rescheduled to another day,” JAMB assured.
Next Steps
- Reprint your examination slip using your JAMB profile.
- Check email and SMS for specific instructions.
- Prepare for the rescheduled exam date, ensuring you follow all guidelines.
JAMB reaffirmed its commitment to fairness and transparency, promising to emerge from the crisis with stronger processes and accountability measures.
