Former Minister of Aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka, has commended the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for demonstrating transparency and institutional responsibility following its admission of errors in the conduct and scoring of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Mr. Chidoka made the commendation in a post on X (formerly Twitter) via his handle, @osita\_Chidoka, shortly after the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, publicly acknowledged the board’s shortcomings during a press briefing held in Abuja on Wednesday.
At the briefing, Prof. Oloyede disclosed that 173,387 candidates would be required to retake the examination due to technical glitches and scoring discrepancies discovered during a post-examination audit. The rescheduled UTME will hold between Friday, May 16 and Monday, May 19, 2025, across 157 affected centres in Lagos and the five South-East states: Anambra, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, and Enugu.
The JAMB Registrar, who became emotional during the address, apologised to candidates and their families, noting that what should have been a moment of joy had instead been marred by preventable lapses. He pledged that the board would ensure justice for those affected and implement corrective steps to avoid future occurrences.
Reacting to the development, Mr. Chidoka wrote:
“JAMB did not say ‘Go to court’. Instead, it acted with empathy and integrity. By owning up to its errors and subjecting its systems to public scrutiny, the board has set a worthy example for other public institutions.”
He further noted that, unlike many government agencies that default to defensiveness when errors occur, JAMB chose openness and stakeholder engagement. He also extended his best wishes to candidates set to retake the exam.
“At the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, we will continue to use data and evidence to hold institutions accountable, spotlight governance failures, and call out those responsible,” he added.
According to official figures, out of the 1.9 million candidates who registered for the 2025 UTME, over 379,000 were affected by the disruptions.
JAMB has since launched a comprehensive post-examination audit to identify the causes of the irregularities and pledged to restore public confidence in the credibility of its examination processes.
