The South-East Caucus of the House of Representatives has called for the resignation of the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede, following what it described as a “catastrophic institutional failure” in the conduct of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The demand was made in a statement signed by the Caucus Leader, Rep. Igariwey Iduma Enwo, on Monday.
According to the lawmakers, the five South-Eastern states were directly impacted by widespread score discrepancies and technical failures during the UTME. They criticized JAMB’s response as hasty and inadequate, pointing out that many affected students — already sitting for their WAEC exams — were given less than 48 hours’ notice to retake the UTME.
“Reports indicate the notice was far too short, leading to low turnout. In several cases, the new dates clashed with ongoing WAEC examinations. The result has been heartbreaking for students and parents, and the entire situation is nothing short of chaotic,” the statement read.
The Caucus emphasized that education is a constitutional right, referencing Section 18(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates the government to ensure “equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels.” They argued that the flawed UTME process deprived thousands of students in the South-East of this right.
“We call for a total cancellation of the 2025 UTME and demand that a new nationwide examination date be fixed, preferably in July or August, after the conclusion of WAEC and NECO exams,” the lawmakers stated, aligning with a recent recommendation by the Association of Tutorial School Operators.
They further demanded the immediate suspension of key officials responsible for JAMB’s digital operations and logistics, asserting that leadership must be held accountable.
“The Registrar may be a good man, but leadership must carry consequences. We therefore urge Professor Oloyede to resign to allow for a full investigation and overhaul of the system. That is what is expected in any functioning democracy.”
This comes after Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu on Sunday also called for a comprehensive probe into the technical failure that led to massive result errors, especially in Lagos and the South-East.
Background
The 2025 UTME results, released on May 9, showed that over 78% of candidates scored below 200 out of 400, raising serious questions about the exam’s integrity.
Following widespread outcry, JAMB launched an internal review and discovered that a technical fault caused by one of its service providers led to the failure to upload candidate responses during the first three days of the exam in the Lagos and South-East zones.
Professor Oloyede later confirmed that 379,997 candidates were affected and announced a resit for the affected students between May 16 and 19. However, the short notice and overlap with other national exams have sparked further criticism.
As the controversy continues, many Nigerians have taken to social media to express outrage, with calls growing louder for a more transparent and accountable system of conducting national examinations.
