Members of the South East Caucus in the House of Representatives have asked the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Ishaq Oloyede, to immediately resign.
This follows the errors on JMAB’s part and the controversy surrounding the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Their position was contained in a statement released on Monday and signed by the Caucus Leader, Igariwey Enwo.
The caucus said the five Southeastern states, which they represent, were “directly impacted by JAMB’s score distortions”.
They acknowledged Oloyede’s accountability by admitting to the flaws in the exam process. However, they said his response fell far short of what was needed.
According to the lawmakers, “JAMB’s knee-jerk and fire brigade approach had been anything but sufficient or desirable.”
They described how students, already writing their WAEC exams, were given less than 48 hours’ notice to retake their UTME.
The lawmakers noted that this short notice led to low turnout, and in many cases, the rescheduled UTME clashed with WAEC papers.
“The outcome has been heart-wrenching for students and parents and agonisingly shambolic, to say the very least,” the statement read.
The Caucus reminded JAMB that it must respect the constitutional right to education.
They referenced Section 18(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which states that “Government shall direct its policy towards ensuring that there are equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels.”
“For the thousands of students across the five South Eastern states, the tainted and flawed outcome of the 2025 UTME has clearly stripped and denied them of any ‘equal and adequate educational opportunities,” they said.
They called for the cancellation of the entire 2025 UTME and a new date to be fixed across the country.
They also supported a recommendation by the Association of Tutorial School Operators, who advised that the UTME be moved to July or August, after WAEC and NECO, to prevent overlap and student disadvantage.
“Apologies, platitudes and public relations campaigns are not enough in addressing the far-reaching and gargantuan implications of the national embarrassment that attended JAMB’s conduct of the 2025 UTME examination,” the lawmakers concluded.
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