Ishaq Oloyede, the registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), says inputting ethnic connotation by some Nigerians to almost every incident is not in the interest of the nation.
Speaking in Abuja during a stakeholders’ meeting organised by board at its headquarters in Bwari, Oloyede said mischief makers should desist from giving ethnic colouration to the “unfortunate” technical glitch that affected the processing of some of the 2025 unified tertiary matriculation examination (UTME) results.
While dismissing allegations of ethnic bias, the JAMB registrar pointed out that the board took responsibility for the issues encountered and quickly took remedial action where hitches were noticed.
He added that the board also dispelled rumours of a plot to shortchange the south-east region educationally.
Oloyede stated that the technical glitch affected the five states of the south-east zone and Lagos state in the south-west.
He insisted that there was no deliberate attempt to undermine students from the south-East, noting that every candidate is a Nigerian first before any other considerations.
“As the 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 well for years,” he said.
He commended candidates and the staff of the board for their resilience despite the operational and logistical setbacks.
While describing the death of a candidate as a result of the examination as regrettable, Oloyede requested the meeting to observe a minute silence in honour of the deceased candidate.
He added that the pressure arising from the technical glitch that was experienced during the UTME in parts of the south-east and Lagos State almost led him to throw in the towel.
“When I received the news, my first reaction was to resign, but people advised me that the students will never forgive me as it will look like I have abandoned them at their hour of need,” Oloyede said.
“The emotional breakdown on my part was not a sign of weakness neither was it an excuse to abdicate my responsibilities.
“Let us not descend to a level where some people begin to pontificate because they want to take advantage of the situation on ground.
“I want to say this clearly, I accepted responsibility, not because I do not know how to do the work but out of empathy for the trauma that affected candidates would be undergoing.
“Also, I will say it for the umpteenth time that no conspiracy theory is relevant to this case.”
