UTME 2025: Reps, Ohanaeze Demand Independent Investigation into Exam Irregularities

The House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education Examination Bodies has demanded an impartial investigation into the human error that disrupted this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Committee Chair Oforji Oboku told reporters at yesterday’s National Assembly in Abuja that they are collaborating with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on improvements to restore the legitimacy of the exam process.

Deploying independent monitors in the six geopolitical zones is one of the measures being considered, he said, to guarantee accountability and transparency going forward.

We apologize to the public, parents, and candidates. He stated, “This disruption is unprecedented in JAMB’s history and must not occur again.”

Although he insisted that the mistakes were preventable, he commended Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, the JAMB Registrar, for his openness and public apology.

“The registrar has shown bravery by taking accountability, but let’s be clear—this was an avoidable mistake. Our students and the nation deserve better,” he said.

The lawmaker stressed the need for reform, warning that the system cannot withstand another large-scale disruption.

We apologize to the public, parents, and candidates. He stated, “This disruption is unprecedented in JAMB’s history and must not occur again.”

Although he insisted that the mistakes were preventable, he commended Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, the JAMB Registrar, for his openness and public apology.

“The registrar has shown bravery by taking accountability, but let’s be clear—this was an avoidable mistake. Our students and the nation deserve better,” he said.

The lawmaker stressed the need for reform, warning that the system cannot withstand another large-scale disruption.

In addition, the pan-Igbo group Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has called on the Federal Government to form a commission of inquiry to identify the local and global reasons behind the UTME’s malfunctions.

President General Senator John Azuta-Mbata said in a statement yesterday that Ndigbo “are not satisfied with the peripheral reasons and tangential justifications given by JAMB, as this portends not only an attempt to jeopardize the future of our children, but is a calculated attempt to vitiate backbone of the zone, which is anchored on education.”

Ohanaeze Ndigbo begs the Federal Government to form a commission to identify the direct and indirect causes of this threat, he continued.

“It is only by so doing can patriotic Nigerians, especially victims and their families, shall have sustainable relief over the avoidable anguish, pressure, anxiety, and trauma inflicted on them…”

Also, Women’s Aid Collective (WACOL) and Southeast Civil Society Coalition have called for the cancellation of this year’s UTME.

WACOL’s Executive Director, Prof. Joy Ezeilo (SAN), urged for an independent probe into the operations of JAMB on the 2025 UTME.

Ezeilo said yesterday in Enugu during a peaceful demonstration against “JAMB inefficiency that led to the mass failure”.

The Southeast Human Rights Civil Society Situation Room, Southeast Women’s Network (SEWNET), and the Fifty-Fifty 50/50 Action Women Group were among the other organizations that participated in the demonstration.

According to Ezeilo, the protest was a reaction to “glaring irregularities and systemic failures” in the way the 2025 UTME was conducted.

However, Dr. Stephen Fasakin, the first National Deputy Chair of the Association of Universities Alumni (ANUA), cleared Prof. Oloyede of any involvement in the errors.

“JAMB has conducted the same examination with good ending for years, and Prof. Is-Oloyede has been acclaimed for his innovation and evolution of positive development through which JAMB has evolved since he assumed office,” Dr. Fasakin said in a statement.

“Nigerians should be careful not to throw away the baby and the birth water because errors can still be corrected to produce an ending that can match or surpass the previous exercises, even though it is quite unfortunate that the previous board’s examination exercise didn’t go as planned for others.”