By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo

The Nigeria Youth Forum (NYF), a civil advocacy organization, has called for urgent reform and accountability in the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) led by Prof. Ishaq Oloyede. This follows JAMB’s recent admission of technical errors that marred the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

In a statement by its National President, Comrade Toriah Olajide Filani, the group described the situation as “administrative recklessness of tragic proportions.” It criticized JAMB’s leadership, calling the examination errors an insult to the intelligence and pain of over two million Nigerian students whose academic futures are now uncertain.

Fresh data revealed that approximately 379,997 candidates—out of 1.95 million registered—were affected by computer glitches, translating to an error rate of 19.5%, a figure NYF described as “far beyond any acceptable threshold” in any credible examination system.

“The most appropriate course of action,” Filani stated, “would be an outright cancellation of the compromised examination sessions to preserve the integrity of the entire process.”

Comrade Filani further decried the persistent challenges facing JAMB, condemning the practice of forcing students to travel long distances to examination centers, only to later discover their results were either inaccurate or outrightly canceled. He described the system as a national embarrassment that has outlived its usefulness.

The NYF also referenced the tragic case of 19-year-old Timilehin Faith Opesusi, who reportedly died by suicide after receiving a disappointing UTME score that may have been wrongly assigned. “What greater tragedy must we witness before those responsible are held accountable?” Filani questioned.

The forum also revisited the 2023 case of Mmesoma Ejikeme, who was accused of falsifying her UTME score. While she publicly admitted to altering her result under pressure, recent revelations of JAMB’s systemic errors have led many to question the validity of that judgment. “Mmesoma may have been a casualty of a compromised system. JAMB owes her, and many others, a national apology,” Filani asserted.

Public outcry has grown, with social media flooded with criticism of JAMB’s credibility. NYF accused JAMB of straying from its original mandate of ensuring credible entrance examinations, alleging that the board now operates more like a revenue-generating agency focused on remitting billions to the federal treasury at the expense of accurate assessments.

“JAMB was never designed to be a cash cow,” the statement read. “Yet each year, it boasts about how much it returns to the government, while students suffer due to faulty systems and administrative lapses.”

The NYF called for a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s examination framework, proposing the adoption of a Proctored Examination Model—a secure, technology-driven system that would allow candidates to take exams from home or local centers under real-time monitoring, facial recognition, and AI-based oversight.

“This is not a futuristic concept. It is a global standard that Nigeria must embrace. We have the technology. What is lacking is the vision and the political will,” Filani declared.

He urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Honourable Minister of Education to take decisive action, warning that the aspirations of Nigerian youths should not be sacrificed for elite complacency.

While acknowledging Prof. Oloyede’s admission of fault as a sign of integrity, Filani stated it was insufficient. “For accountability to be meaningful, he should take the honourable step of vacating the position and allow a more capable hand to restore public confidence in JAMB.”