- Safiu Kehinde
Former Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Osita Chidoka, has lauded the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Registrar, Isiaq Oloyede, over his courage to apologize for the board’s mistake in its handling of the last Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
NPO Reported that a visibly worried Oloyede broke down in tears while addressing journalists of Wednesday as he admitted to JAMB’s errors which left thousands of candidates unable to sit for the examination.
JAMB had also last week announced mass failure by candidates who sat for exam, a development which sparked nationwide outage.
This led the examination board to commence review of the results yesterday with Oloyede announcing the outcome of the review today.
While admitting to the error, the JAMB Registrar announced that affected candidates will be contacted to retake their examinations which will start from Friday 16th of May.
Reacting to Oloyede’s apology in a post on his Facebook page, Osita commended Oloyede’s in what he described as an act of public accountability.
The ex-Minister lauded JAMB for not resort to the all-too-familiar refrain of “Go to court.” as used by most public institution when challenged.
He however expressed his solidarity with the affected students while wishing them luck ahead of the resit.
“In a rare and commendable act of public accountability, the Registrar General of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has taken responsibility and offered an emotional and heartfelt apology to the nation over the technical failure that disrupted examinations in 157 centres across six states, Lagos, Anambra, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, and Enugu, affecting 379,997 candidates out of the 1.9 million who registered.
“The affected candidates will now have the opportunity to retake the examination between Friday, May 16, and Monday, May 19, 2025.
“This decision was reached in consultation with the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), which is concurrently conducting its examinations.
“I commend JAMB for its consistent commitment to upholding institutional integrity.
“Unlike many other public agencies, JAMB did not resort to the all-too-familiar refrain of “Go to court.”
“Instead, it acknowledged its shortcomings, invited critical stakeholders for dialogue, and subjected its internal processes to external review.
“To the students affected, I extend my solidarity and best wishes for the upcoming retest. You are not alone.
“At the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, we will continue to use data and evidence to hold institutions accountable, spotlight governance failures, and call out those responsible.” Osita wrote.