JAMB: Why I Won’t Disclose Workers Who Caused Candidates Failure – Oloyede

 

The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has acknowledged that a human error—not a system failure—was behind the mass failure of candidates in Lagos and the South East. This marks a reversal from his earlier claim that a technical glitch had caused the issue.

Oloyede's earlier explanation was met with fierce criticism, particularly from legislators representing the South East region. Both senators and members of the House of Representatives from the area strongly condemned the excuse, prompting calls for the cancellation of the examination and a total rescheduling for affected candidates.

Addressing chief external examiners, members of civil society, and stakeholders from tertiary institutions during a meeting held in Abuja on Wednesday, the JAMB registrar clarified that the problem did not stem from sabotage or an ethnic agenda. Instead, he attributed the outcome to an error made by unnamed individuals affiliated with service providers engaged by the Board.

According to Oloyede, the identities of those who committed the error would remain undisclosed, as he believed their ethnic background was irrelevant. “I’m not interested in the ethnic identity of those who committed the mistake. As far as I’m concerned and to the best of my knowledge, there was no sabotage. There was no glitch. What happened was a human error committed by certain individuals,” he stated.

Despite the gravity of the error, the JAMB boss emphasized that the issue had been rectified and that the institution took full responsibility. “They committed a mistake, and we rectified it. I’ve accepted the mistake on behalf of everybody,” he added.

This latest development has stirred renewed debate about the credibility of Nigeria’s centralized examination system and the integrity of the processes that govern it. The call for rescheduling has grown louder, with stakeholders arguing that anything short of a full re-examination would be unjust to the candidates whose academic futures may have been compromised.

While JAMB maintains that the error was isolated and has been corrected, concerns persist among the public and affected candidates about transparency, fairness, and the need for greater accountability in national examinations.

Oloyede’s candid admission may be seen as a step toward rebuilding trust, but the demand for corrective action remains a strong undercurrent in the ongoing discourse.