Obi Hails JAMB Registrar’s Admission of UTME Glitches, Urges Reforms

Peter Obi has praised the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, for publicly admitting to technical glitches during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. The former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, however, called for urgent reforms to prevent a repeat of such errors.

Professor Oloyede, visibly emotional at a press briefing in Abuja, admitted that the board had recorded glitches that affected the performance of candidates. JAMB has announced that nearly 380,000 students will retake the exam after it confirmed that 157 out of 887 centres experienced technical issues.

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In a post on his X handle, Mr Obi described the registrar’s admission and expression of remorse as rare but commendable, stressing the need for transparency and accountability in public institutions. He warned, however, that repeated failures in critical national systems like JAMB come at a high emotional and psychological cost, particularly for young Nigerians and their families.

He urged the examination body to adopt a robust quality assurance framework, including regular system testing and clear communication with stakeholders. A breakdown of the 2025 UTME showed that more than 1.5 million out of 1.95 million candidates scored below 200, fuelling public concern and calls for urgent reform.