The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede has disclosed how the pressure as a result of the technical glitches experienced during the UTME in parts of the South-East and Lagos State almost made him resign.
Oloyede revealed this at a stakeholders’ meeting with Chief External Examiners, state technical advisers, and other key stakeholders involved in the conduct of the examination in Abuja.
“When this happened, my first reaction is to resign, but people advised me that the students will never forgive you because it will look like you have abandoned them at such a time,” Oloyede said.
He dismissed claims of conspiracy theory against some parts of the country following the technical glitches recorded during the conduct of the UTME.
He revealed that the Board would organise mop-up examination for some of the candidates who were affected by technical glitches and failed to turn up for the rescheduled examination.
In addition, Oloyede said the mop-up exercise would also be extended to candidates who for one reason or the other were absent during the UTME proper.
He explained that the mop-up examination was to ensure fairness and inclusivity in line with the commitment of the Board to allow equal opportunity for all Nigerians to aspire for placement in higher education in the country.
Recall that the technical glitches affected the five states of the South-East zone and Lagos, with many alleging that the Board deliberately compromised results of the South-East candidates.
Oloyede while reacting to those calling for his resignation, said the Board was conscious of its responsibilities, insisting that there was no conspiracy theory against any part of the country.
He explained that the emotional breakdown that happened during the news conference to announce rescheduling of examination for candidates affected by technical glitches was as a result of empathy for the young lady that took her life and was not a sign that the Board was weak or an admission that the challenges were caused by him.
Oloyede said the death of the lady as a result of the examination was regrettable and called for a minute silence in honour of the deceased candidate.
He said what happened was an act of sabotage, stressing that there was no deliberate attempt to undermine students from the South-East as every candidate is Nigerian and has equal opportunities.
He added that examination malpractice has taken different dimensions, urging Nigerians to face the reality of it and stop chasing shadows.
The JAMB boss criticised those questioning the swift rescheduling of the examination for affected candidates, explaining the tight academic calendar that UTME candidates must adhere to.
“Most people are asking why the hasty rescheduling? Those people are far from knowing the reality on ground. They are talking from lack of knowledge.
“Anybody who knows how the education system knows that once JAMB conducts its UTME, from May WASSCE starts — that is the SSCE conducted by WAEC — and immediately NECO starts and immediately NABTEB follows and these set of students are the ones taking all these examinations. So, once you missed your time, it will be very difficult.
“Some are saying why can’t you fix it in July, August? Maybe they are oblivious of what happens when you do that.
“What of NDA? What of Police Academy, what of air force exams that are regulated? They continue with their admissions and you deprive these people admission because they do not have UTME.
“We are conscious of our responsibility to this nation,” he said.
Reiterating his commitment to integrity and national duty, Oloyede dismissed any insinuations of bias in handling the crisis.
“As chief executive of JAMB, I don’t really care where any of our staff comes from, all I know is that they have been doing their jobs for years.
“The emotional breakdown on my part was not a sign of weakness neither is it an excuse to abdicate our responsibilities.
“Let us not descend to a level where some people begin to pontificate because some people want to take advantage of the situation on ground.”
He emphasised that JAMB remains committed to resolving issues affecting the examination process and rejected any suggestion that administrative failures were due to incompetence or ethnic bias.
He stated, “So I want to say this clearly, particularly because I accepted responsibility, not because I do not know how to do the work.
“People that work with me have testified to the fact that I do not care where you come from. Until this incident happened, I didn’t know that I was surrounded by many issues, because I didn’t look at them as issues, I looked at them as my friends.
“But when things started happening and people are saying, ‘Which one is you?’ which is unfortunate because you need not look at where you come from.
“But I never knew, because I knew him as a human being who was performing his services. So please, let us not descend to the level of those people who are out there.
“I say it for the fourth time that 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.”
He further urged stakeholders to stop ethnic profiling of education and criticised those who exploit difficulties to promote ethnic or conspiracy-driven narratives.
He asserted that many criticisms of JAMB’s operations were rooted in ignorance.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Chief External Examiners group, Prof. Vincent Tenebe, lauded Oloyede’s leadership during the challenging period.
“And we know that we have shown some kind of leadership by owning up, even though it wasn’t his fault or anybody’s fault.
“And I want to use this opportunity once more to encourage all of us to come together to ensure that this country moves forward. Nigeria is a very important country, not only in Africa, but globally,” he said.
