Victoria Mbangwa
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced a nationwide mop-up Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for all candidates who missed the recently concluded 2025 exam regardless of the reason.
JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede announced this during a press briefing on Wednesday in Abuja.
He revealed the Board’s decision to organise an additional round of UTME for the estimated 5.6% of candidates who were unable to participate in the initial exercise. Unlike previous years where mop-up exams targeted specific issues like technical failures or biometric problems, this year’s initiative will be more inclusive.
Acknowledging the pressure and emotional weight of managing a national examination, the Registrar stated that the challenges faced during the 2025 UTME do not reflect incompetence or bias within the system. Instead, he emphasised that JAMB remains committed to fairness, transparency, and opportunity for all candidates regardless of background or circumstances.
“No conspiracy theory is relevant to this case. There is nothing to say north, south, or that you buy more outside. Something happened like people who have been doing something well for years and something just went wrong. I did not throw them under the bus. No.” Oloyede said, addressing what he described as ethnically charged criticisms.
Oloyede reiterated that JAMB’s operations are rooted in merit, not ethnic or regional favoritism. He called out public commentators and conspiracy theorists who, according to him, misrepresent the UTME’s purpose and weaponize misinformation.
“UTME is a placement test, not an achievement test,” he clarified. “Its purpose is to rank candidates for available spaces in institutions, not to measure intelligence or overall academic potential.
Despite logistical hurdles, Oloyede praised the resilience of candidates and the dedication of his team in ensuring over 95% attendance across sessions. He highlighted the importance of seizing the limited window to organize the mop-up, noting that delaying it could have permanently affected students’ futures.
