Victor EzejaThe Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has finally admitted responsibility for the mass failure that was recorded in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
JAMB released the 2025 UTME result last week, with over 1.5 million out of 1.9 million candidates that sat for the examination scoring below 200. The results generated public outcry as many candidates protested, saying that they were not their true results.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelSpeaking during a press conference on Wednesday, the JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, said the Board conducted a review and found the public complaints to be valid. He tendered an apology to the candidates affected.
Oloyede stated that there was a system error, adding that a total of 379,997 candidates across the country would retake the examination, starting from Friday, May 16 to 18.
According to him, the affected states are Lagos, Imo, Anambra, Oyo, Abia, and Ebonyi.
“I appeal to the candidates and those affected by the error of our system to accept this explanation as the truth of the matter without embellishment. Please, I apologise and take full responsibility not just in words,” the JAMB Registrar stated.
He said 92 centres in the South-East and 65 centres in Lagos, totalling 157 centres were affected.
READ ALSO: JAMB, 2025 UTME Mass Failure And Matters Arising
While admitting responsibility for the error, Oloyede broke down in tears and blamed it on the negligence of some JAMB staff.
He acknowledged the public’s concerns about the mass failure and promised that the Board would learn from its mistakes.
He said the unusual public complaints and outcry that they received within a few days after the results were released prompted the Board to urgently conduct an immediate review of what happened, which ordinarily, they would have done in June.
“I want to make it clear that our review and investigation reveal that there are grounds for the complaints about our 2025 UTME results, and this press conference is convened with a view to unveiling the bitter truth of our findings openly and objectively.
READ ALSO: Outrage, Complaints Force JAMB To Review 2025 UTME Results
While stating that they have been able to identify the source of the problem and the affected centres, he lamented that the ugly incident has caused grave damage to the reputation of JAMB.
“As the Registrar of JAMB, I hold myself personally responsible, including for the negligence of the service provider, and I unreservedly apologise for it and the trauma that it has subjected affected Nigerians to, directly and indirectly.”
Oloyede explained that the only consolation they have is that “it is just one of the two service providers that did not do well by uploading improperly, but it was not a case of glitches nor sabotage.”
READ ALSO: JAMB: How To Check 2025 UTME Results
He assured the examination body would emerge stronger and remain committed to its core values of transparency, fairness, and equity.
Affected candidates to reprint slips
Meanwhile, JAMB said the affected candidates would be contacted to reprint their examination slips very soon.
“Man proposes, God disposes. It has been established that a technical glitch affected 157 centres, out of the 887 centres in the 2025 UTME,” JAMB stated via its verified X handle.
“This was basically responsible for the general low performance of the candidates scheduled to sit the examination in those centres.
“As such, all the affected candidates will be contacted to reprint their examination slips toward retaking their examinations starting from 16th May, 2023,” it added.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
