The Nigeria Youth Forum (NYF) has called for the immediate removal of the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede, in response to what it described as a “catastrophic failure” during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
JAMB recently acknowledged technical issues that disrupted the examination process for approximately 380,000 candidates—about 19.5% of the 1.95 million registered candidates from the South-East and parts of Lagos. In a strongly worded statement signed by NYF National President, Comrade Toriah Olajide Filani, the group condemned the development as “administrative recklessness of tragic proportions” and demanded the cancellation of all affected sessions.
“Professor Oloyede’s continued tenure is an insult to the intelligence and pain of Nigerian students,” the NYF said, highlighting widespread dissatisfaction with JAMB’s logistics and persistent operational failures. These include forcing candidates to travel across states for exams, only to be met with flawed or cancelled results.
The tragedy was underscored by the recent suicide of 19-year-old Timilehin Faith Opesusi in Lagos, allegedly following the receipt of an inaccurate UTME result. The NYF pointed to her death as a heartbreaking consequence of JAMB’s failures, insisting that true accountability requires a change in leadership.
The forum also revisited the controversial 2023 case of Mmesoma Ejikeme, who was accused of falsifying her UTME score. With JAMB’s admission of systemic malfunctions, the NYF argued that Mmesoma might have been wrongfully accused and called for a national apology to her and others potentially affected.
“JAMB was established to uphold academic credibility, not to function as a revenue-generating agency,” the NYF said, criticizing the board’s focus on financial remittances over exam integrity.
As a solution, the forum proposed the adoption of a Proctored Examination Model—an AI-enabled system that allows candidates to take exams remotely or at nearby centers under real-time digital supervision.
“This is not a futuristic solution. It’s already in global use. Nigeria has the tools—we only lack the political will,” the statement emphasized.
The NYF called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of Education to act swiftly, stating that the future of Nigerian youth cannot be left at the mercy of institutional failures.
While acknowledging Prof. Oloyede’s willingness to take responsibility, the NYF insisted that true responsibility means stepping down to pave the way for reform and the restoration of public trust in JAMB.
