The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede, has clarified that the reported mass failure of candidates from the South East and Lagos was not the result of a technical malfunction, but rather due to human error. This announcement marks a significant departure from his earlier statement on May 14, in which he attributed the situation to a system glitch during the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The mass failure had sparked widespread outrage among candidates, parents, and stakeholders, with calls for JAMB to cancel the examination and conduct a fresh one for all affected candidates. Concerns over fairness and transparency were raised, especially with the concentration of affected candidates being from specific geopolitical regions. However, in an effort to quell rising tensions and misinformation, Oloyede addressed the matter during a high-level stakeholders’ meeting held in Abuja on Wednesday. The gathering included chief external examiners, representatives of civil society organisations, and officials from various tertiary institutions across the country.
During his remarks, Oloyede reiterated that the error was not targeted at any ethnic group, and firmly rejected suggestions that there was an intentional effort to sabotage candidates from the South East or Lagos. According to him, while the issue was indeed serious, it was the result of a mistake by certain individuals within the system and not an orchestrated act of bias or negligence. He emphasized that the ethnic identity of those responsible was irrelevant to the issue at hand, noting that what mattered most was their role as diligent service providers who happened to make an honest mistake.
“There was no glitch, and there was no sabotage,” Oloyede stated unequivocally. “What happened was a human error committed by certain individuals. It does not matter to me whether they are Igbo or not. What matters is that they were workers doing their jobs, and they made a mistake. We have since rectified the error, and I have accepted full responsibility on behalf of all those involved.”
While he declined to publicly disclose the identities of the individuals who made the error, the JAMB boss assured stakeholders that appropriate internal measures were being taken to ensure accountability and prevent a recurrence of such issues in future examinations. He reaffirmed his commitment to fairness and transparency in the board’s operations and appealed to the public to remain calm and trust in the institution’s integrity.
Oloyede’s statement comes at a time when national unity and educational equity are under the spotlight. His forthrightness in accepting responsibility and dismissing ethnic bias has been seen by some observers as a necessary step toward rebuilding public confidence in JAMB. However, pressure continues to mount on the board to take concrete steps in addressing the concerns of affected candidates, many of whom still feel disadvantaged by the outcome of the recent UTME.
As the examination body works to restore credibility and address the fallout from the incident, all eyes remain on how JAMB will handle the appeals and demands of concerned students and parents who feel shortchanged by the system—human error or not.
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